


A Beautiful Crystal

by Emerald_Time



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Mild Language, Slash, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-05-21
Packaged: 2018-01-15 01:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 73,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1286560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Time/pseuds/Emerald_Time
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagome finds that she wasn't supposed to go on the journey for the Shikon, but that there's another jewel that's supposed to be in her possession, but this time, she'll have to grow up all over again. The Kyuubi knows something, but won't spill the beans, and Sesshoumaru is partially in on it. Minato's alive? Madara was framed? To make matters complicated, Kagome can't get a certain Uchiha out of her mind, and what's worse, she grew up as his sister, but her feelings are clearly more than familial. ItaKag SasuNaru</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Inuyasha.

Prologue

Kagome POV

I stood, the Shikon no Tama held in my cupped hands. I looked around, seeing if everyone was okay; Sango was on her knees, holding Kohaku, his eyes once sparkling with life and innocence, now dull and bleeding. Miroku was standing in the corner of the blood soaked battlefield, a few feet away, staring at his right hand in which the wind tunnel had once resided.

I looked around; Koga and Ayame were holding each other. I smiled at the pretty site they made. I looked toward the middle of the battlefield. Sesshomaru shook his head at me and left. We had gotten closer in our travels to defeat Naraku. He saw me as a sister and a friend.

I looked toward Inuyasha; he was holding Kikyo's dying clay body and looking at me with pleading eyes to wish her back. I burned inside not with loss but anger, anger for all the things I did for him and he repays me by calling me names, double-crossing me, and ignoring my love. And hatred, for shattering my heart to a million pieces again and again to go to a clay pot.

I looked up at the gray sky filled with clouds. Thunder and lightening crackled overhead.

It started raining, gentle at first, but then getting harder and harder. It washed away the parts of demons on the ground. I looked down to my hands. The complete Shikon no Tama, so pretty and yet so destructive, was held in my hands.

"Kikyo! No, KIKYYOOO," Inuyasha's pathetic howl over his beloved clay pot brought me out of my revere, 'It's time,' I raised my hands up in front of my chest, a sort of offering to Kami-sama, "I wish for all of the souls that reside inside of the jewel in an eternal battle, to rest in peace, forever."

Normal POV

No one spoke. Everyone watched as a blue light shot from the Shikon no Tama, into the sky. The wind swirled around Kagome, making a circle around her. Dust clouds whirled around her. She started to glow a blue-green color. The light died, Kagome was nowhere to be seen.

"Kagome! KAGOMEE!" Shippo cried out, "Mama," he said in a heart broken voice.

~o0o~

Kagome POV

'Uhhh, where am I? So bright…'

'A woman, I can ask her…'

I was leaning on something, a tree?

I moved my mouth but no sound came out.

'My voice, I can't use my voice...'

I woke up in the middle of a clearing in the forest. Where? No clue for sure. Flowers grew around me, the trees taller that the highest skyscrapers in Japan (AN: Use your imagination people!).

In the middle of the clearing, stood a tall woman, there was a softness in her aura. She had inky black hair, which looked silkier than Sessomaru's; she wore armor like him too. She had no weapons on her that were visible. I lay still, not wanting to move.

"Welcome dear. I have been waiting…"

I thought she was speaking to me so I struggled to make a sound.

"How long have you kept me waiting in this infernal jewel? Why did you not make a pure wish when you first had it? Do you expect me to wait on you for years to complete a simple task? Surely you do realize that you will not have as much time for your other tasks as you did for this one," she said in a smooth silky voice. It was dangerous, like a lioness, waiting to strike at the first mistake.

I moved to reply but another voice said, "Yes, mother. I understand. The body I inhabited was a miko named Kikyo and she died and burned herself with the jewel. I had to stand by and watch another girl, complete the task. I could not inhabit another body because my powers were weakened, also I could not take over her body, and so after I was fully able to regain my strength, I took the form of a human as to cover my identity.

Somehow my plan went wrong and I, instead of traveling with the Miko and her group, ended up taking care of Sesshomaru. I made up Sessomaru's mind to help her, when she had her heart broken by Inuyasha. Inuyasha broke her heart multiple times, to go to a body made of clay, which resembled his former love and my former body, Kikyo, she was brought back to life by a witch using the miko's graveyard soil and Kagome's soul, she was sleeping with Naraku. She wanted for the Hogosha to die because she thought that she was her reincarnation."

'What? I'm not Kikyo's reincarnation? So I'm me?' I thought as I listened 'And why is she calling me a "Hogosha"? What is that anyway? Wait, is she even talking about me in the first place?'

"He broke her heart, till the Hogosha could not take it anymore. She is more beautiful than Kikyo. Her qualities and skills surpass even Kikyo and my own abilities. She completed the task which was not her own and yet, even in the most difficult times never complained. Though, when she was punishing the hanyou, it was quite humorous. I have brought the hogosha with me. As of right now she is numb but she can see and hear. She is very powerful," said a very familiar voice.

'Yup, that's me but still why is she calling me a "Hogosha"?'

"I sense some that her soul is pure… What do you want, Inutashio? You know of your hanyou's failure to protect the Hogosha, and your elder son's accomplishment, or shall I say my son's accomplishment?" said the first voice.

"Sesshomaru is our son. I never believed the hanyou could do it in the first place. I thought he would be killed as soon as I acted like I 'died protecting them' let my friend's soldiers kill that human and her son," said a masculine, but gentle voice, "As you can see the plan failed. Not this time. I also already said that it was a mistake. I never really loved the human. I was drunk, you-".

"You see it was our anniversary, and in my grief you drank too much sake." The first voice sighed, "I know and I am terribly sorry. I saw what happened from inside the jewel. I should not blame you."

"I am happy. Now did you know the girl was awake and was listening to your conversation and I must say she must be quite confused. Am I right Kagome?"

He moved in my line of sight and I had to with hold a gasp. He looked almost exactly like Sesshomaru, only with his hair up. He had the same features, the same outfit except without the armor and swords.

He waved his hand in a wide gesture and suddenly I felt feeling coming back into my limbs. I looked up at him with wide eyes. He had molten gold eyes. He looked amused. That was the most prominent part. "I-" I tried to speak, but my voice was so weak and unused. I closed my eyes as a moment of dizziness hit me.

Then everything went black.  
~o0o~


	2. Another Jewel!

Kagome POV

I groaned, I felt really sore and I ached all over. I looked around and I was in the same clearing as before. I noticed the same man, Inutashio, hold out a glass "Drink this, it will make you feel better," I complied and drank. As soon as the liquid was in my mouth...I spewed it back out on him, "Fucking hell! That's horrible! Ugh!"

It was disgusting! What kind of person, doctor, or priestess/monk would ever make a patient drink something so...so...ugh! It surpassed even the most foul medicine! Who would even make something like that!

Inutashio's chuckle brought me out of my ranting, I looked up and I couldn't believe what I saw... Inutashio didn't have anything on him, not even a stain, it was as pristine as if it was never stained with the disgusting liquid, but that wasn't what made me grin, no, it was the person standing next to Inutashio that made me happy.

"Fluff-Butt!" I exclaimed. He glared and I knew it was my time to die, or maybe I'm already dead, no the dead don't hurt all over, or maybe I'm in Limbo...nah. "How many times have I told you not to call me that," he growled. I looked at him putting on a serious expression tapping my chin with a finger then twirling my imaginary beard (1),"Hm... Let's see I didn't bother to keep count after the one hundred eighty-ninth time."

He growled, while in the background Inutashio and two other women, Midoriko and the other seemed vaguely familiar, were trying to suppress their laughter. My grin widened, "What are you doing here?"

"Mother brought me here, and apparently I have another sister besides you. You know her as Rin." I gasped, "What is going on here? What is this all about? Why did you-" I looked at Midoriko and Rin, "call me a 'Hogosha'? What is a 'Hogosha'? What do you mean I'm not Kikyo's reincarnation? What do you mean the task of protecting the Shikon no Tama was not mine? Wha-" I continued asking questions until Sesshoumaru cut me off by placing his hand on my mouth.

I scowled and went to bite him but he was too quick, and moved his hand away before I could. I had been training with Sess for the past year and I had come an extremely long way. The day before the final battle he asked me to make a blood bond with him, so I could be his official sister, I said yes. Now the only differences in me were my canines, nails, and height. My canines were longer and sharper, so were my nails, and I was now 5'9 almost as tall as Inuyasha and coming up to Sess's shoulder.

Midoriko POV

Inutashio chuckled at their antiques, "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

After she nodded, he looked to me and I started to explain. "Hello Kagome, let me introduce myself. My name is Midoriko, this is my first born, Rin, she is a youkai, you know Sesshoumaru, my second born and heir to the Western Lands, and this is my mate, Inutashio. First, let's get some history cleared up. I am not a miko but a youkai. A Miyouko youkai (me-u-ko). A Miyouko is an extremely rare type of youkai, born once in a millennium, maybe. A Miyouko is born with the mating of a youkai and miko on the night of the blue moon. The blue moon is even rarer than the red moon and the green moon, which come every five centuries. It is also more dangerous than the red and green moons."

After seeing the confused look on Kagome's face, I explained, "When a youkai and ningen mate on the night of the red moon, their offspring is a full-blooded youkai with enhanced senses, more so then the average demon. However, if a youkai and ningen mate on the night of the green moon, their offspring is a ningen with enhanced senses, like a youkai. Now, for a Miyouko to be born, the blue moon is not the only thing needed. Every millennium on the night of the blue moon, Mt. Hakurei allows one union on its peak, and the offspring is a Miyouko. If the youkai and ningen are not mated on the peak of Mt. Hakurei, then the blue moon lays a curse on the offspring, the offspring is called a Miyoruken (me-yo-roo-ken)." I paused.

When I saw everyone paying attention I continued, "The curse is that when the offspring is born it will release a poison inside the mother and instantly kill her. The offspring will still have the powers of a miko and a youkai, but the two powers will not coexist because the poison needed to make the two powers coexist was released, and eventually the offspring will either be purified or the youki would heat up the blood until the blood was so hot, that the veins would be set on fire. Also the male will never be allowed to mate again and he will give off an aura of death that will make ningen and youkai turn away from him. He will die sad and lonely. Even in death, and if they are reincarnated, they will never be able to live happily. I created the jewel because an army of ningen and youkai saw me as a threat, as I could destroy them both. They struck when I was with Rin. Rin and I battled for seven days and seven nights, until one youkai joined with a bunch of low level youkai and almost defeated us, and so with my last ounce of strength I created the Shikon no Tama. When Inutashio came all that was left was the jewel and Rin's spirit. Somehow, the jewel did not take Rin's spirit in with mine and the youkai's." I stopped and let the information sink in. I looked to Rin and she continued.

Rin POV

I picked up where mother left off, "I told father what had happened. I could not return to my body as it had been devoured by a youkai that had not joined with the others. We agreed that it would be best not to tell otooto until he was older, but father was poisoned by an adviser in his council and otooto made the youngest lord at 500 years (18-ish) in youkai history." I smiled, "Then the jewel was taken away from the village we were in by a dark priest named Ketsuike Kurai (2), claiming that Midoriko's spirit had told him to find a guardian for the jewel. I found out that he wanted the jewel for his own use. I possessed his mind and gave the jewel to Kikyo while I regained my strength. I came back a week later and found that she was fatally wounded. Tsubaki had come for the jewel. They fought, Kikyo managed to defeat her, but not before Tsubaki had fatally wounded her. I poured some of my power into her, in the process my spirit merged into a little part of her soul. I saved her life. She then fell in love, got betrayed, then she burned the jewel with her body. I managed to escape, but the jewel disappeared. Somehow the jewel ended up with you. You are not a reincarnation of anyone. You are Kagome. Also, the Shikon no Tama is not your responsibility. It is mine. Your responsibility is the Ryuu no Kyuubi crystal. Kagome, you did not shatter the Shikon no Tama, I did. You see along with the jewel a part of my spirit was connected to it, and I gave you the idea to attach the crows foot to the arrow. The reason I could not detect the jewel is because it was 500 years into the future. You were not supposed to go on that journey, yet you did and for that I am grateful. Thank you." I stopped and let the words sink in.

Kagome POV

I was pissed. I narrowed my eyes. "You mean to tell me," I started, in a low and deadly voice, "that the Shikon no Tama was not my responsibility  **after** I  **completed** that blasted jewel? After I had my **heart broken**? After all that I  **suffered**? And now you tell me that it  **wasn't MY**  responsibility but there is  **another** jewel that was supposed to be with me and now  **I**  have to go and take care of **another jewel!** "

I was madder than a legless Ethiopian watching a doughnut roll down a hill!

* * *


	3. Inside Another Dimension

Kagome's POV

Sesshoumaru came over to me and rubbed soothing circles on my back to get me to calm down. I sighed, "I should've stayed in bed today." Sesshoumaru smirked, "Better?"

I nodded. He let go of my back and stood next to me. "Why don't we all take a seat?" Midoriko waved her hand and a circular table with five soft computer chairs appeared (AN: like in the conference rooms. A conference room in a forest clearing?)

She then waved her hand again and this time various snacks appeared: chips, Sprite, Vault, cookies, etc. We took a seat and each grabbed a snack. I grabbed a Vault and a packet of Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion. I sat on one side of the table with Sesshoumaru on my right, Inutashio, Midoriko and Rin on the other side.

"Can I ask a few questions now? I'd really like to get some basics cleared up right now." Midoriko nodded and motioned for me to continue. "First, where are we? I don't exactly think we are dead as Fluffy wouldn't be here." I ignored the growl from my right, and looked to Midoriko.

"At this moment we are in another dimension. More specifically the Kikan Dimension, or Time Dimension, it is where all the events through time are kept track of. It forms into the place where the person feels the most comfortable. This is taking the place of my mind."

"Alright. Next, what is a 'Hogosha'?"

"A 'Hogosha' is the term referred to a person who is a guardian, in this case a guardian of a jewel, like my daughter would be a Hogosha, you, Kikyo, and a handful of others. Hogoshi (Ho-go-shee) are very rare, well...the ones who live are anyways."

My mouth made an "o" shape. I was getting kinda freaked out. Just how many Hogoshi have died in history? I stopped my thoughts before they took a turn for the worse and I was even more freaked out.

"Alright, now what do you mean I am not the reincarnation of Kikyo? We look so much alike."

She waved her hand over the table and two photographs appeared. One was of me and one was of Kikyo. She then waved her hand again and two more photographs appeared, this time of two other girls who looked like Kikyo and me. She pushed the four pictures toward me.

"Kagome, how many girls have long black hair? How many mikos have you met that wear the miko garb and tie their hair in a low ponytail? If you looked through history, Kikyo may have been the reincarnation of Miya, the miko of the Southern Lands, but she is not. Only similarities in appearance does not make the person a reincarnation of another. And anyways Kikyo would not have been able to exist at the same time as you if you were her reincarnation. The reincarnation of a person is not allowed to be on the same plane as the incarnation or many dangerous disasters may occur."

"Then how come she came after me to 'get  **her**  soul back' and what about the Shikon?"

"She only thought that you were her reincarnation,  **thought**  alone does not make it so, as for the Shikon, when it was burned, it was sent to the realm of the Dead, but the Shikon cannot die, so it was brought to the future, there, it sought out the most powerful priestess it could find, and that was you."

Well, that certainly cleared some things. "Also, what is this about another jewel?"

"The Ryuu no Kyuubi Crystal. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about it, except that it turns color and changes shape according to whoever is holding it, therefore no one has seen its original shape, because it only reverts to its original shape and color when it is held by its rightful guardian, in other words, you."

"Do I have to go to  **another** world," I asked.

"Yes, but this time you will be reverted back to a baby, you may choose to remember or forget your memories."

"A baby? Why a baby? I did just fine when I was 15 years old in the Feudal Era!"

I was loosing my cool.

"Yes, but, you need to be young enough to start relearning the ways of that world."

"But, why a babbbyy!" I whined, I was being a brat, but what could you expect? Another world, another life, and me going quietly? Not bloody likely.

She hesitated, "Weeeellll," she drawled, "I could, perhaps, maybe. I'm not sure it will even work," she warned.

"I could turn you back to a five year old. It would take a significant amount of power on our behalf, but we may be able to pull it off."

"Well, I guess five is better than a baby. Okay, when do I go back," I asked, accepting my fate. I was really beginning to hate that word Fate. Someone must really hate me up there.

"Not yet, you still have to have training if you are going to be five years old. We start training now. Any questions," she replied.

I started to shake my head, but then remembered something, "Um...it's kinda personal, what did you mean when you said that you faked your death, Inutashio-sama?"

"Do not worry. I will answer," his answer calmed me down. I was relieved he wasn't mad at me for asking such a personal question.

"You see on that night...

* * *


	4. Getting Answers and a Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.
> 
> Warning: There will be Inuyasha and Izayoi bashing. Don't like don't read.

**Last time:**

Kagome POV

I started to shake my head, but then remembered something, "Um...it's kinda personal, what did you mean when you said that you faked your death, Inutashio-sama?" I hope he doesn't think I'm nosy.

"Do not worry. I will answer," his answer calmed me down. I was relieved he wasn't mad at me for asking such a personal question.

"You see on that night...

* * *

**Now:**

Kagome POV

"You see on that night, the night of our anniversary, I had just heard the news of how they," he gestured toward Midoriko and Rin, "died. *Sigh* I had not yet talked to Rin's spirit and so I went out and bought some Yuki sake, got drunk, went to a whore house, hooked up with a whore and well...I was drunk and I had just received the news of my wife and daughter's death, we had sex, she got pregnant, and I had to care for her and act like I loved her because she was blackmailing me. I won't tell what she was blackmailing me about, all of your ears are too young as only Midoriko and I know. The morning after, I went to the battle sight of were they were killed. I met Rin's spirit there, she explained to me everything, after the half-breed was born, I got my friend's army and we made plans to kill her and the half-breed, we did not succeed, however, she thought I was dead and fled, knowing that the half-breed could never be my successor; we rejoiced but in rejoicing of our victory, an advisor who wanted my lands poisoned my sake and I did not check for poison as I was very happy and I died a day later, the poison kills without the person knowing it, you simply fall apart, no pain, no nothing. I then joined Midoriko inside the jewel, how I came to be inside the jewel, I have no idea, but I think it was because of our mating bond," he finished.

Inutashio turned to Sesshoumaru, "We are very proud of the way you handled things in the Western lands, my son."

"Now that we are done with that, do you have any other questions?" asked Midoriko.

I shook my head.

**Normal POV**

Midoriko nodded, "We will start with your training. You will be trained in the ninja arts."

Everyone stood up, the table and chairs disappeared, "We will be taking our leave," said Rin, referring to herself and Inutashio.

"I shall also take my leave, I must get back to the Western lands," said Sesshoumaru.

The three disappeared, and Kagome remained standing with Midoriko. The forest clearing disappeared and a modern day classroom type setting appeared. They were both standing in front of the teacher's desk, at the front of the classroom.

"Take a seat," Midoriko pointed to a desk in the center, "We will now begin."

Midoriko started writing on the white board with the expo markers as she started the lesson.

"Ninja live in villages, there are five in total. Ninja are also called Shinobi; Shinobi is the formal name for ninja. There are many types of ninja, from assassination to search squads. The ninja rank from lowest to highest. The lowest are the genin, then the chuunin, jounin, anbu, and the highest, is the Kage, the leader of the village.

Genin are fresh out of the academy, they are put in squads of three, and they have a jounin instructor. There are two types of jounin; one is the regular jounin, and the other is the specialized jounin. The specialized jounin is a jounin who is above average and mostly all of them are the ones who have resigned from anbu.

Chuunin are the second highest, they are usually helpers of the Kage and instructors at the academy, the ninja academy," Midoriko lectured. She paused to see if Kagome was keeping up.

"Now the missions, they are ranked A, B, C, D, S, and SS. The genin start out with D ranks, which is to help the genin squad to develop teamwork. They range from babysitting to grocery shopping to doing house repairs."

"So basically it's house hold chores?" Kagome asked. Midoriko nodded.

"Can you get banned from D ranks?" Midoriko looked thoughtful, "You know, I have no idea. I mean, there are genin squads who have failed a D rank mission, but those were almost chuunin level. I'm pretty sure you can't, some of those are ridiculously easy."

Kagome nodded for the lesson to continue. "The C rank missions are done by genin squads who are ready for them. The chuunin do C and B rank missions. The jounin do A rank missions and the specialized jounin take A and S rank missions. The anbu take on S and SS rank missions. The Kage is the strongest, he gives out the missions to the ninja according to their status," explained Midoriko.

"The ninja use the three most common ways of fighting. Taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu; taijutsu is hand to hand combat; genjutsu is control of the mind, illusions; finally, there is ninjutsu, the use of jutsu with using hand signs and chakra, jutsu uses the elements: fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, etc.," Midoriko continued, "Of course there are more like kenjutsu and doujutsu, the use of eyes in the jutsu, the ninja that can do doujutsu have a Kekkei Genkai, but Kekkei Genkais are not only limited to the eyes, it can be almost anything."

"They use different types of weapons, kunai, shuriken, senbon, and more. Ok, now that you have the basic knowledge, we can start with your training. You will learn about all of this in the ninja academy, I will be training you to survive in the ninja world. Even if I cannot get you to the age of five and turns out you are an infant in the ninja world, you will still have your memories. Of course you will have to train your body, but all in all it should be fine."

"I have one more question, will I still have my miko powers?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, your miko powers are a part of you, you will not be separated from them," answered Midoriko.

Kagome nodded, "However, if I do manage to get you to the age of five, all you have learned here and the training your body will go through will not remain," said Midoriko, "For your training, you will have different instructors, since you went through training with Sesshoumaru, you will be learning to fight from me and Inutashio, and Rin will be teaching you the basic history of the ninja and the theory."

"First we will start with hand seals…" the classroom setting disappeared and the forest clearing appeared.

* * *

**Time Skip**

"Nervous?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"A little, I am going to a new world after all," Kagome replied.

"You have no reason to be nervous, you have completed your training with outstanding marks. Let us start, Inutashio, Sesshoumaru, Rin," Midoriko pointed to a certain spot in the forest clearing, where Kagome first woke up, as she said each person's name, "start gathering your energy to transfer it to me so I can open the time portal."

They each went to their spot around Midoriko, Inutashio placed a hand on her left shoulder, Rin laid her hand, palm down, flat on her mother's stomach and Sesshoumaru placed his hand on his mother's right shoulder.

Midoriko closed her eyes, she put her hands in a prayer position to concentrate her miko power, she opened her hands, and a blue ball of energy slowly flew out of her hands, it grew bigger until it was almost as big as Kagome, it was a blue vortex, the same blue as the well's light.

"I make no promises, I may or may not be able to get you to the age of five, the smallest you will be is two, one at the most. Ready?"

"Yes, good bye everyone," Kagome smiled and gave each of them a hug, in her time spent in the Kikan dimension, they had grown close and each of them had become like family to her.

She smiled and waved once more before stepping through the time portal. As soon as she was inside, she felt herself changing, shrinking, and getting younger, until finally she passed out.


	5. Kagome Enters the Ninja World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages: Itachi-5…Kagome-1 ½-ish…Sasuke- 1
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> 'Thinking'
> 
> Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned Naruto, Inuyasha or both, I would not be on Fanfiction. Lastly, I do not own the explanation of man #1; I got that from Narutopedia.

**Last Time**

"I make no promises, I may or may not be able to get you to the age of five, the smallest you will be is two, one at the most. Ready?"

"Yes, good bye everyone," Kagome smiled and gave each of them a hug, in her time spent in the Kikan dimension, they had grown close and each of them had become like family to her.

She smiled and waved once more before stepping through the time portal. As soon as she was inside, she felt herself changing, shrinking, and getting younger, until finally she passed out.

* * *

**Now**

Racing through the forest, jumping from branch to branch, were four black shapes. Dark and quiet, the only sound was from the wind and the occasional leaf, falling to the ground. A sudden flash of bright cerulean blue light lit up the forest, illuminating the four shapes.

The first man had short black hair and crimson red eyes with three tomoe marks around a constricted pupil, he had visible creases below them, his expression cold and emotionless. He wore a flak jacket, with a black shirt with the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin-guards and a black apron with a pattern of white diamonds on the bottom. He wore black ninja sandals and had a pouch strapped onto his left leg. He seemed to be the leader of the group and looked to be in his late thirties.

The second and third men looked exactly alike; they had dark onyx eyes, long silky black hair tied in low ponytails, and mischievous grins as they saw the flash of light in the forest, excited at the prospect of something big. They wore the same flak jacket as the first man, black capris, and black ninja sandals. Under the half open flak jacket, was a fishnet shirt, showing off their toned muscles and tanned skin. They each had a katana on their backs and they each carried a brown backpack. They also had a pouch strapped on their right legs and looked to be around 15-16 years old.

The last man had short black spiky hair, he had pale skin, and his eyes were a dark, almost black, brown color and looked to be in his mid-twenties. He wore the same flak jacket as the others, a plain back shirt, arm and shin-guards, and he had a pouch strapped onto his left leg. Surprise, then shock shown on his face before reverting to its cold indifference, but his eyes held a hint of caution as he saw the flash of light.

"Come," said the first man, his voice was commanding, but soft with a gruff undertone. He did not dare speak above a whisper, incase there were enemies nearby, not wanting to alert them if they did not already know of their presence.

Silently creeping through the forest, the light having disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, they arrived at a clearing that none had seen before, in the middle was an old dried up well, it had a glow around the rim of the well, it disappeared as soon as the men came, standing just inside the trees, looking at the clearing, and more specifically the well in the middle.

The first man scanned the clearing with his eyes, he nodded to the twins, and they nodded with a serious look on their faces, their previous mischievousness gone. They disappeared into the trees, both going opposite directions. A minute later they appeared behind their leader, "It's clear," they both said in sync with the other, their voices quiet and smooth with a silky texture.

The first man nodded and walked into the clearing towards the well. He stopped before taking the last step and peered inside. He jumped down into the well; he picked up the child and jumped out.

He looked up from the small child and beckoned his men forward. The three men still standing in the shadows of the forest silently crept over. The twins looking over their leader's shoulders curiously while the third man stood in front of his leader, they saw the bundle in their leader's arms.

It was a young girl; she was wearing a blue silk kimono with black sakura blossoms, outlined in silver, randomly placed on it. She had a black obi and looked to be about a year, year and a half old. She had soft, velvety pale skin, about shoulder length black hair, chubby cheeks and long eyelashes. She shifted her body slightly and tiny hands that were previously covered by the long sleeves of the kimono shown. The baby opened her mouth and yawned, blinking bleary stormy blue eyes up at the man who was currently holding her. She turned her head and looked at the three men around her, feeling drowsy and ridiculously safe, she cuddled into the man holding her, closing her eyes she fell back asleep.

"Aw, it's a cute little girl," the twins exclaimed quietly, not wanting to wake the adorable little girl.

"Ryoshi, Kyoshi, quiet. We must bring her to the Hokage."

"Fugaku-sama is correct, but we may want to do that in the morning. It is quite late. I'm sure the baby is not a henge nor is she dangerous," said the third man, he spoke softly like the others but his voice was a deep baritone.

"Kentaro's right," said Ryoshi and Kyoshi together.

"You should take her home, Fugaku-sama, ne Kyoshi?" said Ryoshi, the twin on the first man's left side.

"Of course Ryoshi, I'm sure Mikoto-sama would love her," said Kyoshi, from the right side of the first man. The first man, Fugaku, glared at them, the twins only ignored him, used to the glare as they were on the receiving end of it many times, they had eventually grown immune to it.

"Fugaku-sama?" Kentaro questioned their leader, silently asking what they should do. Fugaku saw the slight smile on his face and the hint of amusement in Kentaro's eyes. 'The bastards are enjoying this,' Fugaku thought. He knew what they found so funny in him taking home a baby girl.

Fugaku mentally growled, but outwardly he nodded towards the direction they were heading in and the four men continued on their journey, Fugaku carrying the little girl, followed by the twins, holding mischievous grins and eyes sparkling with mirth, and Kentaro bringing up the rear with his emotionless mask in place.

As the four ninja left the clearing, cerulean blue tendrils started creeping in from all directions from inside the forest. After a few moments the clearing glowed blue, as the glow faded away the clearing was no longer there, in its place were trees, just like the other parts of the forest. The old well disappeared and in its place was another tree.

* * *

Fugaku mentally prepared himself for the conversation with his wife, as he entered through the gates of Konoha. He would say no and since he was the man of the house, she would listen to him and honor his decision. He felt like he was trying to convince himself, he mentally sighed...

After telling Kentaro to inform the Hokage that they were back from their mission, and it was successful, and that he would meet with him in the morning if it were okay, the twins had immediately gone to the Uchiha compound, being exhausted from the easy but tedious A-rank mission. He had waited for Kentaro to inform him of the Hokage's decision at their usual meeting place.

Kentaro came back and said the Hokage was fine with it and that he would expect him tomorrow at noon, with the mission report. Fugaku nodded, "Dismissed."

Kentaro nodded and left, jumping onto the nearest rooftop to make his way towards the Uchiha compound. Fugaku followed at a more subdued pace.

* * *

~In the Kikan Dimension~

Inutashio, Midoriko, Rin, and Sesshoumaru watched as the ninja came into the clearing and took Kagome away. Midoriko's hands glowed a cerulean blue and the clearing disappeared, while the trees grew back.

"You did not make her a five year old?" Inutashio asked, turning to his mate.

Midoriko shook her head, "I could not in fact Kagome was born into that world, not sent."

The other's eyes widened as the sentence sunk in. "But…Mother, how is that possible? Did you not just send her there a few moments before?" Rin questioned.

"I did. However, to send Kagome into another world, which she is not a part of, she must be born into it. I did send Kagome, but I sent her into the womb of another woman. She will get her memories back a few years, perhaps about four years, from now."

"Did you not say that you could make her five years old?" Sesshoumaru rephrased his father's question.

"I cannot send her into a new world if she is not in the womb. When I said that I could send her at the age of five, I was talking about her mind, her memories. However, she would still be born into the ninja world. It is like rebirth. The body is new, the soul and her mind, however, are not. As she grows without her memories, she makes new ones; it is better for her to have her memories from when she is young so that she grows with the memories. If I were to give her, her memories at the age of fifteen, after she has grown and is less adaptable to changes, the consequences would be disastrous," Midoriko explained.

The others nodded. Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"What is happening? Are we not in the Kikan dimension?" Sesshoumaru asked, confused at the prospect of an earthquake.

"Someone is trying to force their way inside," said Midoriko her voice slightly panicked. The forest disappeared and everything went black.

A small red glow shown in the darkness, illuminating a man's pale face and sinister smile.

* * *

Fugaku entered the gates of the Uchiha district carrying the small bundle in his arms. It was quiet; most of the people were already at home in their beds. Those who were awake were on the other side of the district. He arrived at his home, he briefly hesitated, but before he could do anything the door slid open revealing his wife, Uchiha, Mikoto, hands on her hips and a scowl on her beautiful face. She had onyx black eyes; long raven black hair left loose, pale white skin and an hourglass figure.

She opened her mouth, probably to ask why he was late, but paused as she saw the bundle in her husband's arms. Fugaku knew that the moment Mikoto knew the baby was a girl; he would have no choice but to comply of her demands to keep the baby.

Mikoto's face lit up as she eagerly, but gently, took the baby from her husband's arms. She led the way inside to the kitchen. She smiled at the stormy blue eyes that had fluttered open as she held the little girl. "She is absolutely beautiful," Mikoto said quietly, not wanting to break the spell the child had drawn her into, as their eyes remained connected. Mikoto's smile grew wider as the little girl giggled and held up one arm to touch Mikoto's cheek. Mikoto loved children, she had wanted a girl and they had hoped that Sasuke would be a girl but it wasn't meant to be.

Fugaku grew cautious as he saw the sparkle in Mikoto's eyes. She turned towards him, the baby still held lovingly in her arms, "She is so adorable, and she looks just like an Uchiha-" Fugaku felt his dread increase as Mikoto continued on about how the child looked like an Uchiha except for her blue eyes. "What happened to her parents?"

Fugaku was startled out of his thoughts as he heard the question, not letting her see that he wasn't paying attention he quickly replied, "We found her in a forest clearing, about a half hour away from the village gates, she was in an old dried up well."

"That is hard to believe since she has no dirt or grime on her clothes or face, and who would want to abandon such a sweet little girl," Mikoto said doubtfully.

Now that she had said that, Fugaku realized that the child was clean; there was no dirt, grime, or dust or anything. It seemed a little suspicious. Suddenly a soft sniffle was heard. They both looked at the child, her tiny nose was scrunched up, and her beautiful eyes were watery. She sniffed again, Mikoto's face softened even more and she held the child to her shoulder, rubbing her back soothingly and lightly bouncing her up and down to calm the little girl. As Mikoto was rubbing her back the girl slowly calmed, "Can we k-" Mikoto started but Fugaku didn't let her finish, "No."

"Why n-"

"No." Fugaku hoped that his stern refusals would be received but it was not meant to be. Mikoto smiled a chilling smile. Fugaku's dread increased even more at her smile, it sent shivers up his back. She gave Fugaku the little girl and walked out of the kitchen to the living room where their eldest son was curled up on the sofa reading a book.

"Itachi, could you come into the kitchen for a minute?" Mikoto asked in a cheerful voice. Itachi narrowed his eyes, something wasn't right; his mother was a little too cheerful when only moments before she had been boiling with anger and worry for their father because he was late from a mission. Itachi followed his mother into the kitchen were his father was holding a bundle.

Fugaku narrowed his eyes as he saw Itachi enter the kitchen after Mikoto, "You wouldn't," he said almost disbelievingly, almost, he knew she would. He also knew that if Itachi took a liking to her then they would have to take her in, he was an Uchiha and therefore he was stubborn, on top of being an Uchiha, he was a prodigy.

Fugaku calmed as he remembered Itachi's reaction to Sasuke, Itachi did not like Sasuke, much; in fact he had said that Sasuke was too needy and crying all the time, all babies were that way. Fugaku remembered Itachi asking if he had been like that, his wife had said that he had been a very pleasant and quiet baby. Fugaku was almost sure that Itachi would not like the little girl for the reason that she was a needy baby. Mikoto took the child from him and showed Itachi the little girl.

Itachi looked at the girl, he observed her as his mother held her out to him. He took her in his arms and studied her. The little girl was calm; he noticed that her stormy blue eyes held a kind of innocence and intelligence, one that Sasuke did not, the soft pale skin, and small smile on her delicate face.

He gave her his finger, she reached out a small fragile hand and grasped onto it. She took her other hand and clutched the finger and brought to her little body, as if hugging his finger, she closed her eyes, her head turning towards his chest, rubbing against his pajama shirt and fell asleep, his finger still in her hands.

Itachi's parents watched the two interact, Mikoto with a smile on her face and Fugaku feeling dread starting to creep in again.

"What do you think, would you like her to be a part of our family," Mikoto asked her eldest son.

Itachi looked at his mother then back at the girl in his arms. She could pass for an Uchiha, except for her blue eyes, but there was more, he felt a sense of protectiveness for her, it was…odd. He hadn't even felt that way for Sasuke, in a way it concerned him, he would admit only to himself, but he knew that pushing his feelings away would not make them go away, nor would he understand what he felt. He supposed he could just go with the flow and find out where it left him, he made up his mind as he nodded, "Yes, I think it will be nice for her to join the family."

Mikoto gave a triumphant smile to Fugaku. Fugaku, hearing his son's answer, audibly groaned. 'Damn it,' he growled in his mind. As if sensing his father's displeasure, Itachi looked up. Fugaku sighed, "Fine." Mikoto gave her 100-kilo watt smile, but Fugaku wasn't finished.

"We will still need to take her to the Hokage. When I give him my mission report tomorrow, he will decide what happens to the child. Agreed?" Fugaku asked.

Mikoto and Itachi nodded. Itachi then turned around and walked towards his room. Mikoto and Fugaku shared a look, "Itachi, where are you taking her?" Mikoto asked her son, before he left the kitchen.

"Bed, Kaa-san," Itachi said, turning around, like it was obvious.

"Why don't we put her in Sasuke's crib?" Mikoto asked gently. Fugaku sighed and left the kitchen to go to bed, knowing that his wife could handle it.

A dark expression flitted across Itachi's face before it went blank again. It was so fast that Mikoto wasn't sure she saw it. She came and tried to take the girl, but Itachi moved slightly and her hand missed. "Itachi."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't want to," came Itachi's reply.

Mikoto sighed, "Itachi, please, she can't sleep in her kimono." She said in a soft voice, looking her son in the eye, "Nothing will happen to her."

Itachi nodded, he went to give the girl to his mother, but as soon as she tried to take her away, the little girl opened bleary eyes. She saw Mikoto trying to take her away and let out a small cry and gripped Itachi's finger tighter when Mikoto went to pick her up, pulling Itachi's hand with her. Another cry pierced the air and just as soon as the cry let out, she was back in Itachi's arms. She sniffled, but did not make another sound. She nuzzled her head in the crook of Itachi's neck and fell asleep again.

Itachi turned around and went to his room before Mikoto could say anything. Mikoto just sighed and went to her room. Knowing that it was no use, the girl had taken a liking to her eldest son. 'On a happier note, we finally have another female in the house,' she thought excitedly as she went to bed.

Itachi carefully laid the girl in the middle of his bed. She still did not let go of his finger, so without moving too much, he slipped in beside her and pulled the blanket over them, his head rested on top of hers and her small body snuggled to his chest and her face in the crook of his neck, still in her kimono, she let go of his finger and grasped onto his night shirt as they both fell asleep.

* * *

~The Next Day In The Hokage's Office~

There was a knock on the door of the Hokage's office. The Sandaime Hokage looked up from where he was doing paperwork.

"Come in," he said.

Fugaku, Mikoto, and a little girl entered the office. The little girl was slightly hidden behind the Uchiha matriarch; she walked in holding the matriarch's hand, her footsteps not making a sound.

The third raised an eyebrow as he put away his pipe. Fugaku came forward and handed the Hokage the mission report. The Hokage took the report and read over it, 'Hmm, not very exciting, a bit tedious, oh, what's this,' he thought as he read the part about the girl again.

"Explain," he said to Fugaku, nodding toward the girl. Fugaku recapped all that had happened, from the flash of light in the forest to arriving at the village gates.

"Hmm, what an unusual occurrence," the Hokage mused, "Come here, child."

The little girl looked at the matriarch, Mikoto nodded and urged her forward, she slowly walked and stood a few feet away from the Hokage's desk.

The Sandaime smiled kindly, "What is your name?"

She remained silent, 'Perhaps she cannot speak yet,' the Hokage thought, but that was proven wrong as the girl spoke.

"Kagome," she stated in a soft quiet voice.

The Hokage smiled once again, "Where are your parents?"

Instead of speaking, Kagome shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, signaling that she did not know.

"Do you know how you got into the well?"

Again Kagome shook her head, her shoulder length hair swaying slightly as she did.

The Hokage sighed, it seemed he would not be getting anything out of the girl anytime soon. "Fugaku, Mikoto," he said.

"You will be the ones to take care of her until she is able to live by herself. This is a mission. Understood?"

They both nodded, Mikoto looked pleased while Fugaku just looked emotionless.

* * *

A pair of cerulean blue eyes watched the proceedings in the Hokage's office. His face and body were hidden in the shadows. A kunai flew passed him, missing his nose by a few centimeters. "Careful, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself," the blue-eyed man taunted a figure standing a little ways away from him.

A man with silver hair and amber eyes came partially into the light; part of his face and most of his body was hidden in the shadows.

"Stay away from her, she is mine!" Exclaimed the second man roughly.

The man with the blue eyes calmly turned towards him, his face and body still hidden, "Really? As I understand it, I do not see nor do I know of any claim you have on her. She is not a possession; you would do well to remember that," he said, a bit of disgust and anger leaking in to the man's voice at the end of the sentence. The two men each sneered at the other before departing.

They did not realize a silver haired man watching them from the shadows, 'Hmm, this could be interesting,' he thought, before shunshin-ing away.

* * *

Fugaku left the office with Mikoto and left to go to the station. Mikoto left the Hokage's office with a smile and a little girl to take home, but first, "Kagome-chan, we need to get you some new clothes and shoes and…"

Kagome looked up at the older women, she liked her, and sure, she was a little eccentric but nothing too bad.

* * *

~In The Hokage's Office~

"Is that her?" The Sandaime asked the blond Shinobi who stood in the shadows of the office.

"Yes. She is the one. Such a heavy burden on such a small child," he said sadly.

"That is true, Minato, however, the jewel may only be in her possession, and in anyone else's possession it corrupts them."

He nodded, a knock sounded on the door, the Hokage nodded to the man known as Minato and the man left. "Come in, ah, Kakashi. How was the mission?"

The door silently closed, shutting out the conversation between the two men.

* * *

~Night, Uchiha Compound~

Minato walked in the shadows of the compound, he silently crept into a room, which was barren except for a small wooden crib in the middle of the room. The crib had a small baby girl sleeping in it peacefully. Her small breaths making her small chest rise and fall, her long lashes touching her cheeks. The man smiled softly at the child, his child. He quickly, but gently, placed a simple necklace around her neck.

The necklace was a silver chain with a simple crystal in the middle. The crystal was a sapphire blue, however as soon as the jewel touched the skin of her neck, it turned a crimson red. It glowed for a second then went back to the red it was.

Minato quickly left the room and quietly hurried out of the Uchiha compound.

He returned to his apartment home. He remembered when he first saw Kagome.

_*Flashback*_

_His beautiful wife was giving birth, and damning him to hell and back. He cringed as her screams reached his ears. They were in a private hospital room, suddenly a Shinobi burst through the doors. "Hokage-sama! We cannot hold back the Kyuubi no Youko any longer."_

_A cry pierced the air; the nurse came out holding a small baby boy, she gave him the baby. "Congratulations, Hokage-sama, it's a boy." The boy had blond hair and pale skin; the little boy was covered in a soft baby blue blanket._

_Minato looked down at the baby sadly, "Naruto, his name will be Naruto." He took the baby away from the nurse and flashed away._

_He stood upon Gamabunta, facing the fierce, glowing red eyes of the nine-tails fox. The demon's nose came toward his body, sniffing it. Unsure, Minato asked, "Why are you attacking my village?"_

_The Kyuubi gave Minato a look that said he was asking a ridiculous question, the Kyuubi incredulously replied, "Why am I attacking your village! Your_ _**ninja** _ _," he said in a disgusted voice, "attacked that which was under my protection! After I warned them, they had the_ _**audacity** _ _to attack me," said the enraged demon. He revealed his sharp teeth; saliva covered in red chakra oozing from the Kyuubi's mouth was dripping onto the ground, melting whatever it touched. Minato was surprised to hear the smooth, velvety, voice inside his mind._

_He widened his eyes, when the Kyuubi had said that his ninja had attacked something protected by him, he saw the small child in a kimono on his back, sleeping peacefully, for the first time._

" _I am sorry, but I must do this to protect my village," said Minato. He started to form hand seals. "FOOL," boomed the Kyuubi's voice in his head, making it hurt just a little, "You would give up your life for these worthless imbeciles?"_

_Minato sighed, "I do not have a choice, I cannot let you destroy the village. I am the Yondaime, the fourth hokage, it is my duty to protect my village."  
_

_The Kyuubi calmed, amusement instead of anger shown in his eyes, he chuckled. Minato taken aback, looked at the Kyuubi uncertainly, the chuckle soon turned into a full-blown laughter, "You fool, I will not kill a rare human like you, I will make you a deal."_

_*Flashback End*_

* * *


	6. The Sharingan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Talking"
> 
> 'Thinking'

**Last Time:**

" _I am sorry, but I must do this to protect my village," said Minato. He started to form hand seals. "FOOL," boomed the Kyuubi's voice in his head, making it hurt just a little, "You would give up your life for these worthless imbeciles?"_

_Minato sighed, "I do not have a choice, I cannot let you destroy the village. I am the Yondaime, the fourth hokage, it is my duty to protect my village."  
_

_The Kyuubi calmed, amusement instead of anger shown in his eyes, he chuckled. Minato taken aback, looked at the Kyuubi uncertainly, the chuckle soon turned into a full-blown laughter, "You fool, I will not kill a rare human like you, I will make you a deal."_

_*Flashback End*_

* * *

**Now:**

**Minato POV**

I snapped out of my thoughts as I stood in front of my home. It was located outside of the village, hidden by seals. I narrowed my eyes, someone was inside; I made a hand seal and henged into my alternate identity, Arashi, that I used for travelling the village and other places. Arashi had dark forest green eyes, shoulder-length dark red-brown hair, was two inches taller than Minato, had a medium build and a lean body with long muscled legs. (AN: Drool!)

* * *

~In The Kikan Dimension~

"What's going on?" asked a frantic Rin, as she held onto Sesshoumaru.

The ground stopped shaking and the darkness disappeared, however, instead of a forest clearing appearing there was polished white stone for the floor, bookshelves running across three quarters of the wall, scrolls lying on top of a mahogany desk with a comfy mahogany colored arm chair and two mahogany double doors leading outside.

"Isn't this Sesshoumaru's study in the castle?" asked Rin, "But it's different…"

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Are we still in the Kikan Dimension?" He looked to Midoriko, "I do not know, but I can still feel the dimension's energy."

Inutashio walked toward the double doors and tried to open one, it did not budge. "Yes, I believe we are, but I thought you were controlling the landscape," he said turning towards Midoriko.

Midoriko looked at Inutashio with concerned eyes, "I do not know, Sesshoumaru, does this place resemble your mind?" She looked at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Yes, this is how my mind is organized, it partially resembles my study at home. I wonder how I got control…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Rin's eyes widened as she let out a gasp, everyone turned to her with concerned looks.

"I just remembered, mother said that Kagome was born into the ninja world, than why did we see her in the well?"

Everyone's eyes widened, as they thought about what Rin had said.

"Sesshoumaru, imagine a mirror in your study," said Midoriko.

Sesshoumaru nodded, he closed his eyes and a moment later a full-length mahogany mirror with silver and gold designs appeared in front of him.

He stepped to the side to let Midoriko stand in front of it; she pressed her right palm and the back of her left hand to the mirror's surface. Blue and pink energy swirled in the mirror, blocking Midoriko's reflection. Flashes of images blurred in the mirror, they caught a glimpse of a blond-haired, blue-eyed man, a transformed fox demon, a red eye with three tomoe marks, and a baby wrapped in a bundle. The images stopped and the mirror reflected Midoriko's image again.

The ground shook again, the mirror shattered, instead of shattering in to shards; it shattered in to dust, which was blown away by a mysterious wind. They were surrounded by various colors that were mixing and shifting around them. The ground stopped shaking, as they looked up, they saw they were back in the forest clearing with the table and chairs.

"I fear that someone may be trying to enter the dimension by force, that is why the dimension is shifting," said Midoriko.

"Let us leave, if we stay any longer we may get hurt," said Inutashio.

Midoriko shook her head, "As much as I want to, we cannot leave just yet. Rin brought up a good point, why did we see a clearing and not Kagome's birth? Those images meant something; we must send someone over there to make sure that Kagome was not harmed."

Inutashio nodded, "Who should we send?"

"I can go," volunteered Sesshoumaru, "Rin is the princess of the Western Lands and she can take care of things while I am gone."

Midoriko shook her head, "That is not possible, once you go you may not be able to return. However if you still want to go, Inutashio and I can take over again."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, "How would that work?"

Inutashio caught on to what his mate was saying, "Tenseiga, I assume you have it with you?"

"Hai."

"There is a special technique, it is called Ikiteimasu (ee-kh-tee-maa-sue)*, it is used to give souls, who have had their bodies destroyed, new ones, so that they may live again. If you swipe the blade through the three of us in a circular motion, we will get new bodies that resemble our previous ones."

Sesshoumaru nodded, he took out Tenseiga, and did the necessary motions. A strong wind surrounded Midoriko, Inutashio, and Rin, Sesshoumaru put up his hands to cover his face so dust would not go in them.

"We need to take our leave soon," said Sesshoumaru.

"Wait, Mother, Father, may I go with Sesshoumaru to the Shinobi world?" asked Rin, "Since you two have your bodies, and I have my youkai body back, I do not have much to do in our world."

"I don't know…" Midoriko trailed off.

Inutashio studied Rin for a moment, "Sesshoumaru, take care of your sister and make sure she does not get into trouble."

Rin grinned and Sesshoumaru sighed and nodded. The four disappeared, but unknown to them, two others disappeared with them.

* * *

**Normal POV**

Minato stealthily opened the door and slipped inside; closing the door silently he hid in the shadows. Forest green eyes scanned the living room, empty.

Moving to the kitchen, he spotted a man sitting at the stool by the counter…looking straight at him. He couldn't make out what he looked like, except for the molten golden eyes starring at him. Something told him that this man was very dangerous, yet he could be trusted.

"Who are you?" Minato asked.

"I? A friend or foe, depending on your intentions," he replied with a silky smooth voice.

"My intentions to what?"

"Why don't you drop the henge?" suggested the man.

"No. Who are you, why are you here and my intention to what?"

"My name is Sesshoumaru."

"Arashi, I have never heard of you," said Minato, giving his alias instead of his real name, 'His name means killing perfection, huh,' he thought.

"I know, just like I know that Arashi isn't your real name."

Minato waited for the man to continue, when he didn't do anything, he said, "And why are you here?"

"I am here about the Ryuu no Kyuubi Crystal and Kagome."

Minato narrowed his eyes, the crystal and its connection to Kagome was a secret between him, the Hokage, Jiraiya and Tsunade. No one else knew about it.

"What do you want with the crystal and Kagome?"

"Why don't you take a seat and I will explain. However, first I must know if you wish Kagome harm or not. Tell the truth, I can sense lies."

"Minato, my real name is Minato. I do not wish Kagome harm," replied Minato, he sensed he could trust this man.

Minato walked over and took a seat at the counter, while dropping his henge. He looked the man over. He had long flowing silver hair in a low ponytail and aristocratic features with markings on his face.

He wore the standard jounin uniform but he didn't see a headband on him anywhere. He sat as if he were on a throne and not a chair, held his head up high and Minato had a feeling that he wasn't entirely human.

Minato felt as if he was in the presence of a Lord.

* * *

*Time Skip*

Ages:

Itachi-8…Kagome-3…Sasuke-3

In a clearing in the woods, the sound of kunai hitting trees was heard. Two children, one was training, the other sat on a log, away from harm, and observed the former.

Kagome watched as her nii-san trained, spinning his lean body, she observed every detail, how he moved his hands, and the positions his body twisted into, his movements were fluid, without any hesitation. Her nii-san landed gracefully and silently on the ground.

Kagome smiled, delighted, "That was great, nii-san!"

Itachi had a small ghost of a smile as he watched his Kagome smile. She was so pure and innocent, untainted; she was the light to his darkness.

"Can I see your Sharingan again, please nii-san?"

Itachi came over to the log Kagome was on. He sat in front of her, opening his eyes, Kagome smiled.

She furrowed her brow in concentration; she reached out her hand to place it on her nii-san's cheek, and tilted her head to the side as she closed her eyes.

Itachi watched as Kagome examined his eyes, he was curious as to why she closed her eyes, a moment later, her eyes opened. His eyes widened, there starring back at him, were not sapphire blue eyes, no, they were red with three tomoe marks around the pupil.

"How did you do that?"

She tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean, nii-san?"

"Come." He led her to the stream near the Uchiha training grounds. "Look at your eyes."

Kagome obeyed, she looked into the water and gasped, "Whoa! So cool, demo, nii-san, why do I have the Sharingan? Father said I could never get one."

"Hn. Try to deactivate the Sharingan."

Kagome nodded and closed her eyes, her eyes opened and she looked into the water, the Sharingan was still there. Kagome's eyes widened, she started to panic, "Nii-san! I can't disable the Sharingan! What should I do? Oh no! Am-"

"Kagome," he said in a stern voice, he waited for her to look up, "Concentrate on the chakra in your eyes, pull that chakra back down, and your eyes will go back to normal."

Kagome nodded, she closed her eyes to concentrate and when she opened them again, her eyes were back to their normal color. She smiled, "Thank you nii-san! I can't wait to tell Kaa-san and Otou-san! They will be so surprised!"

"No."

"Huh?" Kagome looked at her brother in surprise.

"No, do not tell them, not yet, let's wait a while," he said.

'They'll just use her as another weapon; they already know she is very smart for her age, yet they do not know her true potential. They must not find out, she is mine,' he thought, a possessive glint entering his eyes.

"Why?"

"I have a theory that I want to test."

Kagome shrugged at the cryptic reply, but if her nii-san said, than she better not tell. Her nii-san had always been there for her, she trusted him.

"We need to get home," said Itachi.

"Aww, but I want to stay outside for a bit longer," said Kagome. A drop landed on Kagome's cheek, then another, it started to rain, Kagome smiled as she ran away from her nii-san.

"Kagome, come back."

Kagome turned as she ran backwards, "Catch me if you can!"

Itachi shunshined in front of Kagome, she gasped as her nii-san picked her up, putting her on his back.

"Got you."

"Nii-san! That's cheating!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Hn."

She pouted and laid her head on his shoulder, they reached home quickly, Itachi put Kagome down, they took off their shoes and slid open the door.

"Tadaima!" Kagome called.

She raced into the kitchen were Kaa-san was.

Mikoto heard the sliding of the door and the shouted "Tadaima". She smiled as her little girl ran into the kitchen. She frowned, "Kagome! You're wet! Come on," she said as she put down the utensils she was putting away.

She led the drenched Kagome out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, "Take a bath, I do not want you getting a cold," Mikoto smiled, she placed a kiss on her forehead and left with the soggy clothes. She returned a few moments later with dry clothes and a towel. She left them outside the door after knocking once, she returned to the kitchen.

"Itachi, I want you to take a bath, later."

"Hai, Kaa-san." Itachi, had already changed into dry clothing, he opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a box of Fruit Loops and poured it in a bowl. (AN: I'm assuming they had Fruit Loops cereal, I don't know.)

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour, make sure to save room for it," Mikoto said.

Itachi nodded, putting the box back, he walked to his room. Lying on his bed, he thought about what happened today.

He remembered Kagome's Sharingan, but what was different was that her Sharingan was more of a dark pink than a red.

* * *

Kagome thought about what happened today, she wasn't an idiot, she knew that the Uchiha clan had adopted her.

~Flashback~

Kagome had got up in the middle of the night because she couldn't sleep. She was coming back from the kitchen when she heard hushed voices coming from her Otou-san and Kaa-san's room. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but then her name came up, she tiptoed to the door.

"But, we can't just-" Started Mikoto but she was cut off by Fugaku.

"Yes we can and we will. We cannot go against the Hokage's orders. The Hokage said that Kagome moves out when she is old enough to take care of herself. That would mean 10 but she is very quick for her age, the Hokage thought she could take care of herself at 5, otherwise he would not say that."

Not wanting to here anymore, Kagome quietly ran back to her room. She lay in her bed, curled up under the covers.

~End Flashback~

That night, Kagome remembered the dreams she had had, the first was about two twins, a man and her Otou-san. The second was of Itachi-nii, and there were more, some of the Hokage, but some were of red fur and a cave. The dreams that she had had were actually memories that she had forgotten. She had decided that she would cherish the time with her surrogate family while it lasted.

Kagome shook her head and got out of the tub. She creaked open the door and took the clothes and towel that was left out side, her long black hair falling over her shoulder. She quickly slid the door closed and got dressed. Drying her hair on the towel, her long locks fell in waves down her back.

Looking in the mirror she concentrated chakra into her eyes, instead of her sapphire blue eyes, the Sharingan stared back at her. 'I know it's impossible for me to get the Sharingan; I am not an Uchiha.' Before leaving the bathroom, she deactivated the Sharingan, throwing the towel in the hamper on her way out.

"Dinner!" Kaa-san called from the kitchen.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ikiteimasu- it literally means I'm alive
> 
> Demo- But
> 
> Nii-san- Older Brother
> 
> Tadaima- I'm home


	7. Massacre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Talking"
> 
> 'Thinking'

*Time Skip*

Ages:

Itachi-10…Kagome-5…Sasuke-4 ½…Naruto-4

**Kagome POV**

It had been a week since she had turned five and a week since she had moved away out of the Uchiha compound. Kagome sighed as she put the picture frame, of her and her family: Mikoto-Hahaue, Fugaku-Otou, Sasuke-otooto, and Itachi-nii, down on her nightstand. She sighed sadly as the face of the last name lingered in her mind. She didn't know why, but being separated from her Itachi-nii was the hardest part.

When the Hokage had called her, Fugaku-Otou, and Mikoto-Hahaue in to tell her about the move, she had noticed some tension between the head of the Uchiha clan and the Hokage. She may have just turned five, but she was more intelligent and more mature than her age group and very observant.

She was an orphan that was taken in by the Uchiha clan, and when she would be older, many of the kids may not like her staying in their compound when she wasn't an Uchiha by birth and might take a few measures to make her leave. Already, there were some kids who showed hostility to her when she would spend time with Itachi-nii and Sasuke-otooto.

She knew there were other factors but she didn't know what the other ones were, just that this was the main reason. She understood why she had to move, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

The move to the new apartment went smooth enough, it was nicely furnished and it was in the good part of town.

It had a small kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a balcony. One of the bedrooms was turned into a guest/storage room, she had gone grocery shopping and stocked the kitchen, the bathroom was filled with her necessities and the balcony was small with iron rails that had silver and gold designs.

She smiled sadly and pulled the covers over her head, closing her eyes she slipped into a deep sleep.

~Dream~

"Kagome…"

She looked around; she could've sworn she'd heard her name being called. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she had been here before. It was a medium sized pink room, with a bed, and a dresser, along with several toys and necessities.

"Kagome…" There it was again. The voice was feminine, soft and gentle; it was filled with kindness. Her heart yearned for the owner of the familiar voice, she knew who it was, yet didn't have a clue.

"Where are you?"

She called desperately, looking around the now spinning room.

"Kioku Okiru."(1)

Suddenly Kagome was surrounded by a swirl of colors and images. Pictures of people she had known and loved in her past life swirled around her.

"Mama, Souta, Jii-chan… Sango, Shippo, Miroku, Rin, Sesshoumaru…" Tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered her family, friends and her journey for the Shikon. The swirl of colors stopped as quickly as it had started, she looked around and found that she was back in her original bedroom. A woman with flowing raven hair stood in front of her. Kagome's eyes widened as she recognized the woman.

"Midoriko-san!"

"Kagome," Midoriko smiled at the little girl before her, but her face turned serious, "Kagome, I have limited time here, since this is the first time I am meeting with you in the dream sequence. Your mission to protect the Ryuu no Kyuubi crystal has begun the moment you regained your memories. You must protect it at all times. There will be many people after it."

Kagome sighed, she had come to terms with the fact that another journey for a dangerous jewel had to be taken on, but damn it, she had thought that all this would've been over with the Shikon no Tama, 'But nooo, I just couldn't get a break after the bloody jewel another one had to show up!' Finished with her mini rant in her head, Kagome nodded for Midoriko-san to continue.

"I will be in your dreams each night and I will train you in the more advanced Shinobi arts. Other things you must research on by reading scrolls and various other things. You should start by training your body to remember the things you have learned in the Kikan Dimension."

Kagome nodded, "I will do that, also, I'm starting the ninja academy in a few days."

Midoriko nodded.

"Is this the crystal?" Kagome asked holding up the red crystal attached to the silver chain she had always worn around her neck since she could remember.

Midoriko looked closely at the crystal, but since the shape and color were unknown, "I do not know, the crystal's shape and color were never recorded since it was different for every person except for the guardian, who is the only one to know of the true appearance of it. You can try sensing the power inside the crystal with the combination of chakra and miko powers. Later. It's almost time for me to leave, but before I go, I need to tell you about your Kekkei Genkai."

Kagome nodded and her eyes widened at the mention of a Kekkei Genkai, 'So I do have a Kekkei Genkai,' she thought.

"It is not the sharingan. We did not really know if you would get a Kekkei Genkai, we thought that it would be your miko powers, but somehow, you have your miko powers and a Kekkei Genkai. Your miko powers will act as another chakra source. Look up jinchuuriki to know more about what I mean. "

"What is my Kekkei Genkai?" Kagome was curious, she had discovered that she had the Sharingan at the age of three, but the thing was, it had surprisingly disappeared after a week of her having it.

"You have a very rare Kekkei Genkai. Only a select few have it, it is the Koryoku (Ko-ri-yo-koo)."

"What does it do? I mean, I had the Sharingan for about a week, so I thought that the Sharingan was my Kekkei Genkai, but then it disappeared."

Midoriko raised an eyebrow, "Tell me, how did you obtain the Sharingan?"

Kagome explained how, when she was watching Itachi-nii training and she had asked if she could see it.

"Hmm, you seem to have activated it at a young age. Well, the Koryoku is a copying ability like the Sharingan, but unlike the Sharingan which copies jutsu, it copies other Kekkei Genkai."

Kagome's eyes widened, "But that means that it is the deadliest and most powerful Kekkei Genkai ever!"

"Not quite," Midoriko said, shaking her head, "There is always a catch. Suppose you had copied two Kekkei Genkai, you could not use them right after you just used one. Suppose it is the Sharingan and the Byakugan, after you used the Sharingan, you have to wait a certain amount of time to use the Byakugan."

"So basically, I cannot use two Kekkei Genkai in rapid succession?"

Midoriko nodded, "The Koryoku has five levels that it can evolve to, each level that you evolve it to, the more advanced things you can do with it. Many think that the Rinnegan is the ultimate Kekkei Genkai and the most deadly because it is the originator of all ninjutsu, but the Koryoku is the most deadly, as it can copy the Rinnegan and make it its own. Have you told anyone of it?"

Kagome shook her head, "Only Itachi-nii knows, he was the one who saw me activate it, but he said to keep it quiet. Actually, he only knows that I activated the Sharingan but couldn't afterwards, so I doubt he knows about the Koryoku."

"A wise decision on his part, if anyone, namely your enemies found out about the Koryoku, there would be even more reason to go after you. Be careful, Kagome. It is almost certain that this journey to keep the crystal safe will be even more dangerous than the one for the Shikon."

Kagome nodded, "How do I activate it?"

Midoriko smiled and started to fade.

The last words Kagome heard before she awoke with a jolt were, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

* * *

Kagome ran a hand through her tousled hair for the umpteenth time that morning as she tried to control her miko energy. An image of an older Kagome discovering her miko powers entered her mind.

She groaned, 'Damn it! I'm gonna have to start from scratch again!' Kagome paused, she had to start from scratch, she was a five year old girl with a seventeen year old's mind, in a new world, her mouth opened in horror.

"I have…to…go through…puberty. Again…" Big fat anime style tears rolled down her face with the realization, 'Why me…'

She sighed as she sat in her bed. She examined the crystal around her neck. The crystal was simple, yet it was elegant. It was a crimson red, the color of blood, but the curious thing about the crystal was the shape. It was shaped like a single Shikon shard, but bigger.

'Is it broken, too? It doesn't seem like it.'

She fed the crystal some of her chakra laced with bits of her miko energy. Her chakra was entwined with her miko energy, it was controlling them separately that she had trouble with. Normal chakra was blue, but hers was blue with bits of pink in it. If you didn't have an eye for small details, you would not be able to notice it.

The crystal glowed as she fed it her chakra. She stopped, when something appeared inside of the crystal.

_Guardian: Kagome Higurashi_

_Age: 5_

_Specie: Miko_

"…." Kagome blinked at the inscription, "Why am I a different specie? I'm still human…aren't I?"

"I wonder…"

She fed the crystal more of her chakra laced with miko energy but this time she willed only her name to appear. When she saw it again, the inscription read  _Kagome Higurashi_.

"You know… I don't actually have a last name… Well, I do have the Uchiha name but… Well, let's go visit the Hokage."

* * *

Naruto grinned as he ran down the alley, three chuunin covered in neon orange paint were chasing him. He turned around the corner and jumped up, avoiding the trip wire.

Making sure the wire was pulled tight; he jumped onto the roof and waited. The three enraged chuunin turned into the alley way and promptly tripped over the carefully concealed wire, a bag of feathers ripped open, making the feathers stick to the sticky paint on the chuunin.

Naruto laughed, "Hahahahaha! You…. hahaha… f-f-fell…. Hahaha…fo-for… it…hahahahaha…. again…. hahahahaha!"

Naruto felt the intense killer intent given out by the three chuunin; he chuckled, nervously while discreetly backing away, he turned and bolted down the street, zigzagging through the civilians and other shinobi that were off duty.

"Perfect," Naruto whispered to himself, when he saw the wooden fence lining the private property. He quickly pulled out the fence disguise; pressing himself to the wooden fence, he covered himself completely. His hands moved the disguise with years of practice, expertly deceiving the chuunin who ran past him a moment later.

* * *

He watched from the rooftops as the blond gaki doused the three chuunin with neon orange paint and then covered them with feathers, he could have stopped it, but then, where was the fun in that?

He watched as the blond slipped the chuunin via fence disguise, he would have to interfere by now, or risk a tongue lashing from the Hokage, as he was supposed to stop the gaki from doing pranks, but it was so amusing to watch trained ninja fall prey to a gaki who wasn't even in the academy, yet.

Jumping down, he walked behind the unsuspecting blond and grabbed his collar. Crystal blue eyes widened as they gazed up at their captor and small pink lips pouted.

"Naruto."

"Dog-san!" The gaki had always referred to him by his mask, ever since he was little.

"Shall we make a trip to the Hokage directly, or shall I turn you over to the enraged orange chicken, ah, I mean, chuunin?"

Naruto laughed and said in an accusing tone, "You were watching!"

"I won't say yes or no. Now, option one or two?"

"Option two, onegai," Naruto said, he couldn't slip Dog-san, but he could slip the chuunin, thus avoiding punishment.

"You know, I'm not actually a dog, nor am I stupid enough to hand you over to the chuunin who you could slip away from, easily might I add."

'Then why'd you ask,' Naruto thought and pouted, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this would happen.

"!" Naruto yelped as he was swung over the ANBU's shoulder.

He made a hand sign and soon they were in the Hokage tower. Naruto was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Naruto groaned as he rubbed his sore bottom.

"Hokage-sama," He nodded respectively.

"Ohayo jiji!"

The Hokage sighed, "What did he do this time?"

"I'm here for a social visit this time!" Naruto exclaimed.

The Hokage's eyebrow rose.

The door slammed open and three chuunin barged into the room, covered from head to toe in orange paint and feathers. He sighed and put his hands to his temples, slowly enjoying the slight relief before the scene started.

"He did that," The ANBU said, needlessly pointing a thumb in the direction of the three enraged chuunin.

"He will be punished, you three are dismissed," The Hokage said to the three paint and feather covered chuunin before they could open their mouths to complain.

One of the chuunin opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by the Hokage's glare.

The three chuunin shunshined away leaving the Hokage, Anbu, and Naruto alone in the office, for a few minutes it was silent, until the Hokage let out an exasperated sigh.

"Naruto, why did you pull a prank on the chuunin?" He thought he should at least know why he had done the prank before he decided on the punishment.

"Oh, come on! You have to admit that was funny! Plus, aren't they  **chuunin**?" Naruto asked, emphasizing 'chuunin'.

"Yes, so what?"

"Jiji if they are chuunin, they aren't very good. Seriously, I'm a kid, not even in the academy and I got them not once, but twice, and they are  **trained**  ninja. Doesn't that tell you anything?" Naruto explained.

The Hokage was surprised, to say the least, that Naruto of all people had come up with that explanation, but he knew how resourceful Naruto could be, he mentally shuddered at the thought of Naruto getting a partner in crime. Even if he agreed with the blond, he knew that Naruto could not escape punishment, but he could let him off easy.

"Regardless, that is no way to test a shinobi's skill. We have tests for that. Now, your punishment is that you will be helping me with the paperwork at the office until you start the academy, which is next week."

Naruto pouted, he didn't mind the paperwork, but it was boring as hell, but he was a little surprised to get off so easily.

"Naruto you can go. Dog stay."

Naruto nodded and left, closing the door behind him. The Hokage turned to look at the ANBU standing in his office, "Why did you not stop Naruto?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Permission granted."

"With all due respect, those chuunin should have been able to dodge, their anger at Naruto made them blind to the trip wire that was hidden. If this were an assassination attempt, they would have been dead. I guess I overestimated them, and it was amusing how he made them look like orange chickens." The ANBU gave a low amused chuckle.

The Hokage shook his head, "I know you agree with me, Hokage-sama," Dog said.

"Even if I do agree with you, please refrain Naruto the next time. Dismissed."

The ANBU gave a swift nod and shunshined away.

Sarutobi sighed as he was left alone in his office once again. His thoughts turned to one Kagome Higurashi.

~Flashback~

"Hokage-sama?"

A chuunin questioned from the intercom seal. Sarutobi blinked, coming out of the haze created by the mounds of paperwork on his desk.

He pressed his hand on the seal under his desk and channeled a small amount of chakra into it.

"Hai?"

"Uchiha, Kagome is here to see you."

"Send her in."

"Hai."

A few moments later a knock came from the door.

"Come in."

A small head poked in, slowly opening the door to reveal the rest of her small body, a small smile formed on his face as he saw the little girl.

"Kagome, how are you?"

She gave a small happy smile as she came into the room.

"I'm fine. I know you're busy so I'll get to the point. I wanted to talk to you about my clan name."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow; this was new, when she had first stepped into the office, she had no memory, she only knew her first name, so there was nothing to go on to find her clan.

"Oh? Do you remember your clan name?"

He was already taking out her papers from one of the file cabinets, to change her name. She gave a wide grin, her eyes sparkling at the thought of her clan.

"Yes, but I do not know much about my clan."

"That is understandable, you were very young when you were brought to Konoha."

Kagome nodded, "My clan name is Higurashi."

Sarutobi furrowed his brows, "Higurashi? How do you know?"

Kagome replied with a bright smile, "I don't really remember much but ever since I can remember, I've had this necklace. I was looking at it this morning and my name appeared inside of the crystal."

She held up the necklace for him to see.

Sarutobi beckoned Kagome closer and peered at the blue crystal carefully, he could see  _Kagome Higurashi_ inscribed in the middle of it. He wondered why nobody had ever thought anything about the necklace, before he made the connection. 'It must be the...'

"Very well. I will change your name from Uchiha, Kagome to Higurashi, Kagome."

He gave the small girl a smile; she seemed to be happy at the prospect of having her own last name, a name that was her own.

~End Flashback~

Sarutobi frowned as he was brought out of his musings. Higurashi was an old clan that had died out many years ago. Learning that Kagome was the sole survival of said clan was surprising to say the least.

The clan was a very unique clan; instead of only molding chakra they also molded another energy. He had personally never seen the second energy but had heard a few rumors about it. He heard that it acted almost as a second chakra source, and that it was Holy, but nothing more than that. Apparently the clan was very secretive and did not belong to any of the hidden villages.

After the visit, Minato had appeared in his office.

~Flashback~

A flash of yellow alerted Sarutobi to the presence of his successor. He saw that Minato was in his Arashi henge and addressed him.

"Arashi."

"Hokage-sama, may I?" Arashi said, gesturing towards the door. Sarutobi nodded, while he closed the blinds, Arashi closed the door and put a sound seal on it, so that no one could eavesdrop.

"The crystal that Higurashi, Kagome showed you-"

"It was the crystal that you gave her."

"Hai, how?"

Sarutobi smiled at his successor.

"The crystal has been with her since she was brought here, surely someone would have noticed if there was a name inscribed in it. This is a shinobi village after all. What worries me is that she is part of the Higurashi clan."

Arashi nodded, "Yes, that is troubling. The clan died out a few years ago. Also, I wanted to introduce someone to you."

A man with flowing silver hair tied in a low ponytail appeared in the corner of the room. Sarutobi's eyebrow rose, he hadn't sensed the man's presence at all.

He was tall, with markings on his face. He wore the standard jounin uniform but Sarutobi didn't see a headband on his person, but what really stood out about the man was his long flowing silver hair and piercing amber eyes. He turned to his successor with a pointed look.

Arashi glared at the man, the man just smirked and Arashi sighed, Sarutobi watched them interact. He turned his head to Arashi, keeping the man in view, as he saw him open his mouth to speak.

"His name is Tashio, Sesshoumaru…"

~End Flashback~

Sarutobi sighed as he picked up another paper and read it.

* * *

"Ow…" Kagome groaned as she sat on her ass rubbing her head. The blond across her was doing the same but in a more sloppy way.

"Are you okay?"

The blond just groaned in reply. Kagome got up and went to look more closely at the blond. 'Surely we didn't hit our heads that hard.'

Kagome gasped. The small blond boy in front of her was covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. She carefully put her arm around his shoulders.

"Come on… don't worry, my house is nearby, I can patch you up there. Okay?"

The small blond boy just looked at her through bleary blue eyes and nodded. His forehead had a cut going across it, and it looked liked someone had beat the shit out of the kid with a rolling pin and kicked him multiple times.

* * *

Dog watched from the shadows as the small girl took Naruto to her apartment. He cursed himself, he should have been there, he took too long getting back to watch the small child and while he was speaking with the Hokage, the villagers had gotten to him. The other ANBU who were supposed to watch Naruto were on missions.

Usually the Sandaime would not send them all out, but the missions had called for it.

He followed the pair from the shadows to make sure the girl did not harm Naruto.

* * *

"Ow! That stings!"

"Well of course it's going to sting. I have to clean the wound with peroxide so it doesn't get infected."

Kagome sat on the couch with the blond beside her in the living room. She finished tying the final bandage on his arm.

"There. How did you get hurt so badly?"

"Uhh, you know, I fell."

Kagome shook her head; she knew that those wounds were from someone getting beaten up and not from a simple fall, but she respected his privacy and did not push for more. He could tell her in time, if and when he wanted to.

"So what's your name?" Kagome asked the blond boy.

"My name is Uzamaki, Naruto! And I am the future Hokage. Believe it!" Naruto stood up; pumping his fist into the air, then fell back on the couch with a groan and his head in his hands.

Kagome giggled, "Careful, you lost some blood so don't make any sudden movements or you'll be very dizzy. I'm sure you can be Hokage, but out of curiosity, why do you want to become Hokage? I heard the amount of paperwork gave some of the previous Hokages nightmares."

"Well, the paperwork is dull, but I want to become Hokage because then everyone will acknowledge me!"

Kagome nodded in understanding. She knew what it was like to not be acknowledged and constantly compared with others.

"So, um, what's your name?"

"Oh! Gomen. My name is Higurashi, Kagome."

"Oh. Um, can I ask you something?

Kagome tilted her head, "Hmm?"

"Why did you patch me up?"

Kagome blinked, "Did you not want me too?"

"No, no, it's not like that, it's just that most of the villagers hate me and I…"

"And you thought I would have been the same. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."

As soon as Kagome said that the boy relaxed, if only slightly, she could understand why he was weary. She had seen the boy around the village a few times and saw how most of the villagers had glared at the boy, almost as if he was something disgusting, and if the villagers thought that, then they would keep their children away from him.

"You want to be my friend?"

A shocked face looked up at her, "Wha?"

Kagome put on a mock sad face and pouted, "You don't want to be my friend?"

"No, no, no! I do!" Naruto hurried to correct her. Kagome giggled and threw her arms around him, being careful of his injuries, and hugged him.

"We'll be best friends forever!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned happily.

Kagome felt happy that she was able to put a smile on Naruto. Maybe she could bring some happiness to the lonely and sad blond boy.

* * *

**3 Years Later**

Ages:

Itachi-13…Kagome-8…Sasuke-8…Naruto-8

"Kagome! Where are you?" Mikoto called as she entered the apartment carrying a tray of lasagna.

"In here Hahaue," Kagome said, coming out of the kitchen.

"My roommate is still asleep," Kagome said taking the tray of lasagna. She took of the foil and smelled it and made a noise of appreciation.

"Your food always smells delicious. Thank you so much! You saved me from eating Ramen for lunch and dinner for today."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, "You know how to cook."

"I do, but today I didn't make anything and my roommate is very impatient and if I don't make any food, we have to eat Ramen. We had Ramen almost everyday for the first two months he lived with me. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Kagome liked Ramen, really she did, but Naruto just took it to a whole new level. Even Inuyasha wasn't this bad about Ramen, at least he ate other things, but with Naruto it was Ramen breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

"Oh Kagome. You don't come around any more," Mikoto said with a sad smile.

"I know, but I've been busy with training and the academy."

"I know, I know. I just wished you would come around more often, you haven't come to the compound in almost over a year."

"I know and I'm sorry. Hey! How about I come tonight, for dinner?" Kagome asked trying to cheer up her Hahaue.

Mikoto smiled, "That would be great! And you can bring your roommate, too! I'd love to meet her! I can also make sure to have Ramen on the menu. From what you've told me, she loves Ramen. Speaking of your roommate, I've never seen her."

Kagome twitched nervously, "Ano, my roommate can't come. She has a meeting with someone else…"

"Oh, that's too bad. Your roommate is still sleeping?" Mikoto asked, she turned to leave the kitchen but Kagome blocked her way.

"Yeah, she was really tired from training last night. So we shouldn't disturb her."

Kagome tried to stop her Hahaue from going to the room, 'Shit! If Hahaue finds out that not only am I living with a boy, but that boy is NARUTO, shit!'

Mikoto only smiled at her adopted daughter, she made her way to the second room and peeked inside to see a blond-haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks, sleeping on the futon. She froze and turned to look at Kagome, who was standing there nervously.

"Kaa-san."

Mikoto and Kagome turned to see Itachi standing in the doorway. Relief flooded Kagome at the sight of Itachi.

"Help Me!" Kagome mouthed to Itachi.

Itachi just raised an eyebrow at her, 'Hmm, it seems Kaa-san found out about Naruto.'

"Otou-san is requesting you."

Mikoto nodded, "Kagome, we will be having words about your  _roommate_  over dinner. Tonight."

Mikoto spat out "roommate" as if it was a cockroach and not a person that she was talking about. Mikoto spun and stormed out of her adopted daughter's apartment.

Kagome gulped as she watched her Hahaue leave. It was a good thing Naruto was still asleep.

"Hn."

Kagome snapped her head to the other person still I the room. Her eyes narrowed, she knew that he knew that she hated it when someone said 'Hn' as a word.

"Hn, is not a WORD," Kagome picked up the nearest object, a book, and threw at Itachi's head.

He simply smirked and caught the book. He placed it on the table and left, knowing that doing nothing would irritate her even more.

After a while, Kagome calmed down, she had a bigger problem. She remembered the day that she had made Naruto move in with her.

~Flashback~

"Naruto."

"Hmm?" Naruto said as he looked up at her.

They were at Ichiraku's and, as usual, Naruto had a stack of bowls beside him and a bowl in front of him.

"Where do you live? You've been to my place more than a few times but I've never seen your place."

"Oh. Well I live on the opposite side. I can show you, but your place is much nicer."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, the opposite side, wasn't that near the red light district?

"Okay, let's go," Naruto said, putting the money on the counter and getting up.

Kagome followed him as he took a few turns and shortcuts. She narrowed her eyes as she saw where they were going, she had been here a few times, when she had gotten her memories back, she had made a mental layout of the village in her mind, so that if she ever got distracted or was chased, she would know where to go.

They arrived in front of a ratty old building that looked like it would collapse if the breeze blew too hard.

Kagome feeling angry was an understatement, when she saw the conditions in which Naruto lived in. She was furious.

"You live here?" Kagome hoped for the landlord's sake that this was a joke.

Naruto nodded.

"We're going to the Hokage," Kagome said, barely containing her fury, her expression murderous. She grabbed her best friend's hand and dragged him from the building, unconsciously letting out a small amount of killer intent.

Everyone who saw her murderous expression immediately got out of the way, not even bothering to glare at the blond boy with her.

Kagome stormed up to the chuunin who sat at the reception desk, "I am going in to meet the Hokage, I don't care if he is in a meeting, tell him I'll be there," she ordered the surprised chuunin.

He tried to stop her but she was too fast and kicked him in the shin. The chuunin doubled over in pain. She stormed past him and opened the door to the Hokage's office, still dragging a stunned Naruto behind her.

The Hokage looked at her, two ANBU were standing in front of him.

"Kagome, Naruto, what-" She didn't let the old man finish.

"I've come to file a complaint about Naruto's landlord for unfair charges and getting payment for an uninhabitable apartment. There is no hot water; the light goes out randomly and frequently. The apartment is infested with rodents. No one can live in a disgusting and filthy apartment like that, and certainly not a small kid!"

The Hokage nodded, slowly taking in everything he heard.

"Also, Naruto will be moving in with me. You have no say," Kagome said to the Hokage, still fuming about what she had seen.

Naruto just blinked, "Um… Kagz, that's really not necessary-"

"Of course its necessary! You live in, for lack of a better description, an oversized dumpster!"

Naruto sighed and nodded his head, deciding it wasn't worth trying to talk her out of something when she was dead set on it.

"Jiji, you've seen Naruto's apartment! It is uninhabitable-"

"All right."

"-That landlord should- huh?"

The old man, much to Kagome's shock, smiled and said, "All right. However as you can see, I'm in the middle of a very important meeting, care to wait outside?"

"Oh. Okay." Kagome said, she pulled Naruto out with her and closed the door, Naruto's hand still in hers.

"Do you really want me to move in with you?"

Kagome blinked, "Of course I do! You're my best friend and like a brother to me! I won't stand you living in that filth!"

Kagome saw Naruto blinking back tears and smiled softly and swiftly gave him a hug.

"Remember Naruto, you aren't alone anymore. You have people that care bout you."

Naruto buried his head in her shoulder and just cried silently. Kagome continued to whisper soothing words to him and stroked his hair softly.

~End Flashback~

Kagome sighed as she remembered that day. She had the landlord sued and Naruto had officially moved into the spare room in her apartment.

That was almost two and a half years ago, but in that time she had gotten to know Naruto well and together they had become the infamous pranksters of Konoha. She had also adopted Naruto's nickname for the Hokage because they would see him so many times because of their pranks on the defenseless civilians and the not-so-defenseless shinobi. Then there was Dog-san, who would always be the one to take them to the old man and sometimes stop them from doing the more harmful and long lasting pranks.

In the last two and a half years she had also gotten control over her miko abilities and had extra training through her dreams by Midoriko. She had taught her many things and Kagome had then taught some of the more basics to Naruto. She had even figured out how to control her Koryoku, but she preferred not to use it, as it would bring up many questions.

She also knew that the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto, she thought about telling Naruto but decided to wait. If he did not know about it by the time he graduated from the academy then she would tell him.

When Midoriko had mentioned jinchuuriki, she had looked it up and found out that her miko powers acted just like the Kyuubi in Naruto. So her chakra supply was huge, one thing that bothered her was that, she didn't know what the Ryuu no Kyuubi Crystal did. She had asked Midoriko and even looked it up in Konoha's library, but she couldn't find anything.

"Oh well, what happens will happen," She sighed. She would be dammed if the blindness of her surrogate family separated her from Naruto.

* * *

Dinner had been a quiet and tense affair. Sasuke had gone to bed saying something about getting the homework done for the academy, and the rest: Itachi, Kagome, Mikoto and Fugaku sat around the table in the living room.

Mikoto opened her mouth, Kagome tensed, waiting for the tongue-lashing she knew that was coming. Itachi squeezed her hand underneath the table and Kagome relaxed a little. Squeezing back in thanks, she held on to his hand.

"Kagome, why did you lie to us about your roommate?" Mikoto asked, trying to be patient.

"With all due respect Hahaue, I did not lie. If you remember correctly, when I informed everyone about my roommate, you all immediately assumed it was a girl."

"Fair enough, but why did you not correct us?' Fugaku asked, he seemed calm, but one never knew with the Uchiha Clan head.

Kagome gulped, Hahaue, she could face, but her Otou-san scared the crap out of her. She took a deep breath, "Because if I corrected you then you would have not approved."

"Exactly! You will kick that  _boy_  out! I do not want you living with him! Immediately!" Mikoto said, her patience running out.

"But-"

"NO! You will do as I say! That boy is only trouble!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes; she let go of Itachi's hand and stood up, "Why do you hate Naruto so much! It's not his fault! You are so blinded by your hatred of him that you can't see that he isn't…"

Kagome took a deep breath to calm down, and said in a soft but firm voice, "Do not mistake the prisoner for the prison, Hahaue, because one day you just might regret it. This is not a threat but a warning."

Mikoto stood up, "How dare you to talk to me like that! If you know what he is, then why are you still living with him!"

"Tell me Hahaue, if you seal a kunai into a storage scroll, is the scroll the kunai?"

With those last words, Kagome turned and left the house.

* * *

Itachi just shook his head at his shocked parents and followed after Kagome. He had known about Naruto living with Kagome since the day she had stormed into the Hokage's office. He and Dog had been briefing the Hokage about the mission when they had sensed a small amount of killer intent and the approach of two people.

"Kagome," Itachi walked up to the small girl pouring her frustration out on the tree in the forest and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

Kagome stopped hitting the tree as she felt arms wrap around her.

"Why don't they understand? Naruto is just like you and me, what if you, Sasuke, or me had the same condition as him? Would they still be so full of hatred?"

Itachi didn't speak as Kagome turned around and buried her face in his clothes, wrapping her arms around him.

"Kagome, there are always people who won't understand. Pity those people, because of their blindness to see the truth, they will lose a valuable friend like Naruto, and it will come back to bite them where the sun doesn't shine, and it will be painful," Itachi said.

Kagome laughed at the last part. Trust Itachi to lighten the mood and still sound stoic.

"Thanks."

"Hn."

Kagome twitched and fisted her hands to keep from punching him. Itachi quickly leaped away and disappeared into the forest. Throwing a smirk in her direction.

* * *

Kagome gasped, her eyes wide as she watched Itachi cut down the Uchiha clan like trees.

"Why?"

He turned and came towards her. It had been a month since her fallout with her surrogate family and she had come to try and mend things between them, but what she saw made her stomach churn.

Blood and gore lay everywhere, bodies of people she knew and didn't know, lay sprawled across the ground.

She looked up terrified into Itachi's Sharingan eyes.

Itachi stared back at her, and she felt the world spin. She watched as Itachi cut down her Hahaue and Otou-san. She tried to make a sound but her voice didn't come out.

Tears streaked down her cheeks as she watched her family fall, one by one, to Itachi's sword.

She couldn't take it, this was wrong; she was back, staring at Itachi's face as he looked at her impassively.

"Why? This doesn't make any sense! This senseless slaughter," she cried out in a hoarse whisper.

"To test my capacity. Is this too much for you, my dear sweet little Kag-chan?" He replied in a soft deadly tone.

Tears still pouring down her cheeks, anger settled in.

Her hands flashed through multiple signs, "Hikari Inju no Jutsu: Light Ribbon Jutsu!" Silver-white ribbons unfurled from Kagome's hands and slithered toward Itachi, glowing with pure energy in the dark.

Itachi's sword cut through the ribbons but they just reformed. Jumping back, his hands flashed through seals, Itachi called out, "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The fireball incinerated the silver ribbons, before Kagome could make another hand seal, Itachi appeared behind her and hit a pressure point in her neck, knocking her out.

The last words Kagome heard before darkness enveloped her were, "Sleep well, my little Kag-chan."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Kioku Okiru: It means Memories Awaken.


	8. Graduation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Me no own!
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> 'Thinking'
> 
> 'Hand Signs'

**Last Time:**

"Why? This doesn't make any sense! This senseless slaughter," she cried out in a hoarse whisper.

"To test my capacity. Is this too much for you, my dear sweet little Kag-chan?" He replied in a soft deadly tone.

Tears still pouring down her cheeks, anger settled in.

Her hands flashed through multiple signs, "Hikari Inju no Jutsu: Light Ribbon Jutsu!" Silver-white ribbons unfurled from Kagome's hands and slithered toward Itachi, glowing with pure energy in the dark.

Itachi's sword cut through the ribbons but they just reformed. Jumping back, his hands flashed through seals, Itachi called out, "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The fireball incinerated the silver ribbons, before Kagome could make another hand seal, Itachi appeared behind her and hit a pressure point in her neck, knocking her out.

The last words Kagome heard before darkness enveloped her were, "Sleep well, my little Kag-chan."

* * *

**Now:**

Kagome groaned.

"Kagz! You're awake!"

A head of blond hair came in her line of vision.

"What happened?"

Naruto helped her sit up, so that her back was resting on the wall by her futon.

"Well, Itachi dropped you off here, he said you were angry and over exerted yourself by training and to let you rest."

Memories of the night before flooded her brain. Was it all a dream? Did Itachi really k-kill the Uchiha clan?

"You said I-Itachi dropped me off?"

"Yeah, he was in his ANBU uniform, his katana was all red and bloody. I think he might have just come back from a mission."

Kagome chilled at those words.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto asked as he saw Kagome begin to get up, he put his arm around her to steady her as she stumbled.

"Take me to the Uchiha compound."

"But you're in no condition to move around!"

"Onegai!"

Naruto looked in to Kagome's sapphire blue eyes, filled with unshed tears. He sighed, even if he didn't agree, she would go on her own. 'Might as well just take her, at least then I'll be able to take care of her if something happens and she collapses.'

"Alright, let's go."

Kagome smiled softly, "Arigato."

* * *

Kagome fell to her knees, clutching Naruto's pant leg, tears pouring down her cheeks, as she saw the blood and bodies in front of her.

'Hahaue, Otou-san!' At the thought of her family she let go of Naruto and ran towards the main house, where were they? Did they die, too?

She stumbled a little but kept on going, passing the few shinobi trying to stop her. She slid open the door harshly, not seeing anything, she ran to the kitchen, empty. She slid open the door to their bedroom, empty.

She heard Naruto searching for her, but didn't bother calling him; she slowly walked to the living room, dread crawling up her spine.

Dead eyes gazed at her as she took the last step in to the living room. She gasped, hands flying up to her mouth in horror.

She stumbled, going over to her Hahaue's body, she fell to her knees, taking her adopted mother's head in to her lap and cradling it softly.

A wail burst out of her lips and the dam broke, the silent tears turned into heart wrenching sobs as she buried her head into her Hahaue's clothed shoulder. She cried that day, she cried more than ever.

Remorse filled her, the last memory her parents had of her were of her storming out. Her heart felt so heavy, her breaths coming out in harsh pants; it was getting harder to breathe, why?

Why was this happening?

Arms wrapped around her, she looked up and saw familiar blue eyes, she cried harder. Letting go of her Hahaue's head and softly placing her on the ground, she wrapped her arms around Naruto and cried. She sat in his arms and cried her heart out, putting all the emotions she felt into her cries. Regret, sadness, hopelessness, anger, and frustration, each constricting her heart more than the last.

* * *

Naruto raced through the compound, Kagome had run off after seeing the dead bodies lying in front of her.

Naruto hurried after her. He saw her taking the path to the main house, but quickly lost sight of her.

He ran, his legs carrying him faster, his heart beat wildly in his chest as he saw the corpses lying on the ground around him.

He saw that the door to the main house was open and raced in.

"Kagome!"

He didn't hear a reply, where was she? Did she collapse? He ran in the living room and saw her.

She was kneeling with the Uchiha matriarch's head in her lap, sobbing into her shoulder. His heart tightened in his chest as he saw the state Kagome was in, on the floor. He knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

He didn't know what he should do or what he could offer her, but one thing he could offer her, and that was comfort, he could be there for her. He didn't know how she felt, he never had a family to lose. So to lose a family… He shook his head, no. He head a family, albeit a small one, but a family nonetheless.

The old man, Hokage, was a grandfather to him, then there was Teuchi, who ran Ichiraku, who was like a father figure and Ayame-nee-chan, but then there was Kagome.

She was his most precious person. His first friend, his best friend, and she was more a sister to him, than anything else. He didn't know what he would do if she hadn't come into his life, but one thing was for sure, his world would fall apart if Kagome was ever taken from him.

They didn't know how long they sat there, one crying and the other offering silent comfort.

After a while, Kagome's sobs died down and her breathing evened out. Naruto gazed down at her; she was asleep. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the masked face of Dog-san.

"Naruto, we have to leave, they need to give the Uchiha a burial," his voice was soft and gentle.

Naruto nodded. He carefully stood up, making sure not to jostle Kagome too much.

Dog-san held his hands out to take Kagome and Naruto unconsciously tightened his hold on her. His previous thoughts coming back to fill his head.

"We are going to the Hokage tower, I'll carry you both so we can get there faster, is that okay?"

Naruto nodded, he didn't feel like talking. Dog-san held his hands out and this time Naruto walked up to him.

* * *

He picked up the two kids and making sure not to jostle them too much, he ran outside and took to the rooftops. Jumping from building to building, he silently thought about the two kids in his arms.

He arrived through the window and silently placed the two children on the couch inside the Hokage's office. Naruto had fallen asleep and was curled around Kagome protectively, as if afraid that if he didn't hold on to her, she would disappear.

He nodded to the Sandaime and disappeared out the window.

* * *

Kagome groaned as she awoke to a warm body beside her. She buried her face in the comforting warmth next to her.

"I see you are awake."

Kagome shot up at the voice, "Huh?"

She looked around, she was in the Hokage office, suddenly the memories of the morning came back to her. She had fallen asleep on Naruto as he was comforting her and she was vaguely aware that a masked person, probably ANBU and from ANBU it was most likely Dog-san, had picked them up and carried them somewhere.

"Is," She pursed her lips, she didn't want to know, yet she knew she had to know, "Is e-every-o-one d-de-dead?"

She looked down at Naruto, who was curled around her, she stroked his hair softly, smiling a small smile as he unconsciously moved towards her hand. What would she do if Naruto was killed? He was like a little brother to her.

She looked back up at the Hokage, he seemed so old, his wrinkled hands and face, weary from age, what if he was taken from her, too? She knew everyone died, but would jiji die because life was snatched away from him, like her family in this world? Or would he lie in bed and have a peaceful death from old age?

"No, Uchiha, Sasuke is still alive."

Her head snapped up at the mention of Sasuke.

"He's alive?"

Her voice barely above a whisper came out. Relief filled her, when she had seen the bodies of her parents she had not thought of anything else. 'But Sasuke is alive, he's alive!'

She smiled, slowly, she had not been that close to Sasuke, but she would rectify that, "Where is he?"

"He is in the hospital, he is suffering from shock."

"Can I go visit him?"

The Hokage smiled sadly, "Yes, would you like to go right now?"

Kagome smiled, she was about to say yes, but her gaze fell own Naruto, "Should I wake up Naru?"

"Why don't we let him sleep, Dog said that he'd been awake all night."

Kagome's eyes widened, Naruto had been awake all night! She felt guilty, it was because of her that he'd been awake.

Naruto shifted, Kagome looked down into bleary blue eyes.

"Kagz?"

"Sleep Naru, I won't leave you," Kagome said softly, she saw his eyes close and he snuggled up to her stomach and once again fell asleep.

"No, I'll go visit Sasuke once Naru is awake."

"As you wish, until then, you can stay here."

"Hai, arigato. Is there anything I can help with?" Kagome asked, looking pointedly to the stacks of paper on the Hokage's desk.

"Onegai," the Hokage said, gesturing to the papers on his desk.

Kagome nodded and the Hokage gave her a stack of papers.

* * *

They looked up as they heard shifting on the couch. Kagome got up and walked over to the couch.

"How are you feeling, Naru?"

"I'm fine, are you okay?"

Worried blue eyes looked in to her own. She smiled softly.

"Sasuke's alive."

His eyes widened, "Teme's alive?"

"Yes, and we are going to the hospital to see him, I was waiting for you to wake up!"

Naruto groaned and turned around and buried his face in the back of the couch.

Kagome scowled, "Come on!"

She pulled on his arm and dragged him from the office and out the door with the Hokage behind them, chuckling with amusement.

* * *

"Sasuke?"

Kagome poked her head in from behind the door, she saw Sasuke looking at her from the hospital bed.

She came inside, Naruto and the Hokage were waiting outside by the reception desk, so that she could have some alone time with Sasuke.

"Kagome?"

"Um, how are you?"

"Fine. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

Sasuke snarled, "I don't need your pity!"

"Kagome's eyes widened, "But-"

"No! Just go away!" He turned away from her, he didn't need her pity. All those looks, of sympathy and pity, he hated it! His hands clenched in to fists.

Kagome was angry, how dare he just assume she was pitying him!

"Listen here you jerk! I wasn't pitying you! I was just here to make sure you were okay!"

Sasuke looked at Kagome with surprise.

"Not everything is about you! I saw it, too," Her voice turned soft towards the end.

"What? But you don't live at the compound anymore."

Kagome nodded, "Remember the last time I came home for dinner?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I stormed out because I was angry."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Is that why Kaa-san didn't visit you the past month?"

"Hai, we got into an argument about Naruto and I-I was coming to try and mend things but I saw I-Ita… I saw him, he killed the clan members and then he came for me. I tried to fight, but he knocked me out." She didn't tell him about the words that he spoke to her last, the words still resonating in her mind as she thought about that night,  _'_ _Sleep well, my little Kag-chan.'_

"Oh. Did  _that man_  use Tsukuyomi on you, too?" Sasuke asked, pulling Kagome out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, he showed me how he k-killed Hahaue and Otou-san."

A heavy silence set in between the two. Sasuke clenched his fist, "I swear I will get revenge on  _that man_ , even if it's the last thing I do! My whole life I tried to be like him, now, I will kill him!"

Kagome looked up, shock written all over her face as she saw the determination in his eyes.

"You can't."

Sasuke looked over at Kagome, first shock than anger settled in, "Why not? He killed our clan! For what!  _To test his CAPACITY_!"

"If you kill him, are you any better?"

"You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand! He killed my family, too! They meant as much to me as they did to you! Revenge is a double-edged sword! What will you do? Train? Give your life to killing him!"

"Yes! He killed the clan! He needs to be destroyed!"

"Let me ask you something, what will you do after you kill him? What purpose will your life have then?"

Sasuke said nothing, his jaw set in stubborn determination.

"Answer me!"

His eyes snapped to Kagome, "Whatever happens will happen, but I will kill him! You can just go…forget it."

"Go on, 'just go' what? Go die?"

She turned and walked out of the door, "Kagome I-"

He got out of bed and followed her, grabbing her arm, "Kagome I-"

"Let go."

"No, just listen to me! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Onegai, gomen nasai."

Sasuke looked at Kagome, his eyes pleading for her to believe him. She sighed and he let go of her arm. They walked back inside of the hospital room and both sat down on the bed.

"Do you know where you'll be living now?"

"I'll be living in the compound." Sasuke said that like it was obvious.

"But, that's not healthy! You should find an apartment, there are many nice apartments! You could live with Naru and me! I'm sure he won't mind sharing a room, if you don't want to share a room with one of us, you could always sleep on the couch-"

Sasuke just shook his head, "Why don't you want me living at the compound?"

"Do you really need me to spell it out for you?" Kagome asked incredulously.

Sasuke just looked confused. Kagome huffed, she got a twinkle in her eye, but didn't let Sasuke see.

She leaned in close to him, her eyes hidden behind her bangs, as if to tell him something very important, "Because of the," she paused and looked around.

Sasuke looked curious, "Because of the what?"

"Because of the ghosts."

It took Sasuke a moment to process what she had said, he blinked, "You've got to be kidding me," he deadpanned.

Kagome mock pouted, "Seriously! All the ghosts will haunt you!"

Somehow, both of them had migrated towards the door.

"Alright, I'm fine, you can go now," Sasuke said, opening the door.

"But," Kagome protested, as she pushed against Sasuke so that he wouldn't push her out the door.

"No, goodbye." Sasuke pushed her out of the door, closed it and locked it.

"Baka Kagome, there's no such thing as ghosts," he muttered to himself.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be doing this," Naruto asked.

"Absolutely! He can't live at the compound, it's where they died. He might go insane," Kagome hissed back.

They were outside of the main house in the Uchiha compound, where Sasuke had gone back to live. The Hokage, himself, had tried to convince Sasuke to get another apartment, but to no avail.

"So you want to drive him out by making him believe that ghosts live in the compound?"

Naruto sounded skeptical, "Don't you think we need a more… I don't know…believable reason?"

They had tried different things twice since Sasuke had moved back, and the second time Sasuke had caught them, so he would be on his guard.

"Trust me, if he hears something that sounds like ghosts, he'll just move out of the apartment! We just need to make ghost sounds!"

They both crept inside the house, being careful not to make any noise.

' _Wait_ ,' Kagome signed.

Naruto looked at Kagome, ' _What?'_  he signed back.

She beckoned him into an empty room, they silently entered and shut the door softly.

"Why are we being quiet," Kagome asked.

"What do you mean 'why are we being quiet'! We're sneaking into Teme's house!"

"I know that, but we want to convince him there are ghosts, shouldn't we make noise?"

Naruto blinked. Now that she brought it up…

Kagome looked at Naruto, "When we make the ghost sounds, we can pretend to say 'get out' or 'leave' or something along those lines, you know."

Naruto nodded, Kagome slowly opened the door, Naruto froze. Kagome looked at Naruto.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

"What's wrong is that you are in my house in the middle of the freaking night," a dark voice growled.

Kagome slowly turned her head, there, standing in the doorway, was Sasuke.

"Hehe," she nervously chuckled, "Sasuke, what are you doing up so late in the night?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, "I was woken by your attempt to make me leave the house, AGAIN!"

Kagome just 'eeped' and backed away.

"Come on, Sasuke, you can't really expect me to believe that you are happy living in this big, empty, haunted, house?"

"Will you stop with the ghosts nonsense already?"

"I will if you move out."

Naruto just stared dully at the two while Kagome and Sasuke stared each other down. After a few minutes Sasuke huffed, "Fine! I'll go to the Hokage tomorrow and take the apartment he's offering."

"Yes!" Kagome beamed as Sasuke grumbled.

"Okay, I agreed to move out now go away."

Kagome pouted as she was dragged away by Naruto who was grumbling about bastards who didn't appreciate what they did for him.

* * *

*Time Skip*

(AN: Last one, I promise! Well, until the training trip.)

"Sir!"

A chuunin ran in to the Hokage's office frantically.

"What!" Sarutobi growled, he was not having a good day, stupid paperwork had almost tripled.

The chuunin looked ready to piss his pants, "Um, Uzumaki, Naruto and Higurashi, Kagome painted the Hokage Monument."

_SNAP_

The brush the Hokage had been using snapped in half.

"Bring them in," the Hokage said in a low, deadly voice.

The chuunin gulped, and nodded. He quickly left to inform the others.

* * *

"Get back here!"

"Naru, let's get out of here!" Kagome shouted.

They were both standing in front of the Hokage monument. Gazing at their work proudly.

"Aw man! They caught up to us!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kagome shouted.

Kagome and Naruto bolted, jumping to the rooftops, they dashed away. Kagome laughed, she looked back and saw a group of ninja, she counted around ten chuunin, five jounin, and two-three ANBU.

"Alright Naru, let's split up and then meet back up at our spot. Okay?"

"Yeah, don't get caught!"

"Ditto!"

They smirked at each other, and then split as they turned opposite directions. Kagome ran toward the village gates, she jumped down from the rooftops, and slid in with the crowd.

She henged into an unsuspecting brown-haired, brown-eyed, civilian, she glanced back and saw the ninja looking for her.

As she was looking behind her, she didn't notice the ANBU in front of her, and she bumped in to him.

She looked up, 'Shit! It's Dog-san!'

"Oh! Gomen," she said, trying to keep up her façade. She tried to go around him, but he grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her back.

"Nice try, Kagome. Drop the henge."

Kagome pouted and dropped the henge, crossing her arms she looked up at his masked face. Kagome yelped as he swung her over his shoulder and started walking towards the Hokage tower.

"You know they called me back to active duty just to track you down?"

Kagome looked surprised, then understanding settled in, "Oh! That's right! Jiji made you resign from ANBU! So what are you going to do now? Teach at the academy?"

"Not a chance, you brats give me enough trouble, there is no way in hell I'm going to take on a room full of monsters."

They entered the Hokage tower and Kagome saw Naruto pouting beside Iruka Sensei.

He looked up and saw her slung over Dog-san's shoulder.

"You got caught?"

"Yeah, Iruka Sensei, got me. Looks like Dog-san got you, huh?"

Kagome sighed mock sadly and said, "Yeah."

"Naruto, Kagome! You both have the graduation exam tomorrow! Why would you paint the hokage monument!" Iruka fumed at his two students.

Dog-san dropped her at Iruka Sensei's feet, nodded to him and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"The Hokage is ready to see you," A chuunin said from the desk.

Iruka Sensei nodded and the trio went in to the Hokage's office.

Kagome and Naruto gulped, they could feel the slight killer intent emanating from behind the desk. They saw the Hokage's desk piled with stacks of paper.

'This isn't good, he's in a bad mood,' Kagome thought. She nudged Naruto's foot, grabbing his attention. She placed her hand over her cheek. She saw Naruto nod out of the corner of her eye.

"What in Kami's name  _possessed_  you to paint the Hokage monument!" The Hokage hissed.

"We just added a little character to the Hokages, that's all!" Kagome defended.

"A little character? The Shodaime has red swirls, a white nosebleed, and green X's on his face. The Nidaime has long blue eyelashes, a red nosebleed and a blue X. My stone face has two white swirls, blue eyes and eyelashes, a white nosebleed, and green stitches across the jaw! The Yondaime has a blue X at the top, a green X on his cheek, white tears running down from his eyes, and a white nosebleed!"

"Hey, this is all your ninjas' fault!" Kagome defended.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Really, and how is that?" The Hokage asked.

"The ninja should have stopped us! Seriously, Naru and I painted all four faces, and were gazing at our work when the ninja came after us! What does that tell you about your ninja? And out of all the ninja you sent after two  _academy_ students, only Iruka Sensei and Dog-san managed to catch us. Doesn't that tell you anything," Kagome asked.

It was true after all. Seriously, they had managed to paint the faces and admire their work when the ninja had come after them.

"Yes, that tells me you both will be cleaning the hokage monument of all the paint you have put on it, understood!"

"But!"

"No buts!" The Hokage replied.

Apparently, this was exactly, what Kagome had been waiting for. She looked surprised, than she looked down her eyes hidden behind her bangs and lower lip trembling.

She started trembling and Naruto put his arm around her, mock comforting her.

"There, there, Kagz, I'm sure the mean old man just had a rough day," Naruto said while glaring at the Hokage.

Kagome looked up and saw the Hokage looking taken aback, she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She put up her hands to her face and discreetly poked her eyes a few times to make them watery.

"Kagome, don't cry. I'm sorry I was so harsh, but you must clean it up," the Hokage was at a loss as to what to do about the crying girl.

Meanwhile, as this was going on, Iruka stood in the back, his expression blank, inside he was thinking, 'Why the hell is the Hokage falling for that?'

The Hokage sighed, "Your artistic ability is flourishing?" he said that as more of a question than a statement.

Kagome looked up with watery eyes, 'Just a little more,' she thought.

"You can postpone cleaning up the Hokage monument until after graduation."

'Score,' Kagome thought.

She made a 180 and beamed, "Really!"

She looked up with sparkling sapphire blue eyes.

The Hokage chuckled, "No, but you can do it tonight. Iruka, you can take them to the academy."

Kagome and Naruto pouted.

"It was too fast Kagz."

"Yeah, I'm thinking I need eye drops."

"Yeah and you should definitely hold it longer."

"Come on, you two," Iruka Sensei said.

* * *

Naruto and Kagome were tied together in the front of the classroom.

"I've had enough of this! You both failed graduating the last two times because you both could not do a proper Bunshin!"

Naruto just huffed and turned his head away, but Kagome, not one to take things lying down, retorted, "Yeah well that stupid Bunshin doesn't take a lot of chakra! We both have too much chakra and that's why we can't do it!"

"There's this thing called chakra control," Iruka Sensei said, "Maybe if you both actually paid attention in class, you wouldn't have that problem!"

Kagome just turned away.

"Fine! Because you both missed the transformation class, we are going to go over the transformation jutsu again!"

The class groaned as they stood up and lined up against the front row.

Naruto and Kagome smirked at each other as they joined their classmates.

"This so pointless," Shikamaru grumbled.

"This all because of you and Naruto! We always suffer because of you guys," Ino complained to Kagome.

"Yamanaka, Ino!" Iruka called.

Ino stepped forward and transformed into Iruka Sensei.

"Hm. Good job Ino."

"Yes! I rock!" Ino exclaimed, going to sit down at her seat.

"Haruno, Sakura!"

Sakura came up and also transformed in to Iruka Sensei.

"Good job," Iruka said as he marked something down on his clipboard.

Sakura turned and looked at Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun did you see?"

Kagome elbowed Naruto and he leaned in close to her.

"Isn't that the girl you used to like?" She whispered.

"Yeah, but after getting so many bruises on the head, I figured she wasn't worth it," Naruto whispered back.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "Wait, you mean she's the girl that you asked me for advice to win her heart?"

A year or so ago, Naruto had come to ask Kagome for advice about what he should do to win a girl's heart. He didn't tell her the girl's name because he wanted it to be a surprise, but then he suddenly stopped chasing her, and she had asked why, he had said that she was too violent and very loud for his liking. Kagome had raised an eyebrow at this, but let it go, seeing as he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Naruto nodded.

They watched as Sasuke, then Shikamaru went and transformed, "Higurashi, Kagome," Iruka called her forward.

She winked at Naruto, before going to stand in front of her Sensei.

"Sensei, I have a request, can Naruto and I do ours together?"

Iruka considered this, 'I guess there is no harm in letting them do it together.'

"Alright. Uzumaki, Naruto," he called.

He nodded at them, together they put their hands in a seal and shouted, "Transform!"

The class watched as Naruto and Kagome were surrounded by smoke, and then…

Iruka flew back by the power of his nosebleed as he watched a tall handsome male grope a beautiful blond girl that he knew to be Naruto and Kagome.

The tall male had silky silver hair tied in a low ponytail with golden eyes and markings on his face that made him look even closer to perfection. He was wearing swimming trunks and had an eight pack. He was lean as he wrapped his arms around the girl.

The girl had blond hair and cute whisker marks on her cheeks, unlike the male, she was naked and had only smoke covering her private parts.

The girls were all starry eyed, staring at the male and some of the boys had nosebleeds but with the female.

The two transformed back, laughing, "We got you Sensei!" Naruto said as he doubled over laughing.

"Yeah, that was our sexy jutsu," Kagome said.

"CUT IT OUT! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" Iruka roared and sent the two kids flying back towards the back of the classroom with a kick.

* * *

Naruto and Kagome had each taken two Hokages and started cleaning with Iruka watching over them.

"You both aren't going home until every drop of paint is cleaned up," Iruka shouted down to them.

"So what! It's not like there's anybody waiting for us at home, anyway!" Naruto shouted back.

Kagome made a noise of agreement. Iruka looked down at them and sighed.

"Hey, if you guys cleaned this up quickly, I'll take you out to Ramen, what'd you say?"

Naruto beamed, "Now that's some serious motivation! Sensei!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I may live with Naruto but that doesn't mean I eat Ramen 24/7."

"Well, I was only talking to Naruto about Ramen, I was thinking about Oden when I was talking to you," Iruka replied and watched as Kagome went from annoyed to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Oden! Arigato Iruka Sensei!" Kagome rubbed harder and was soon on to the second Hokage.

* * *

Naruto, Kagome and Iruka sat at Ichiraku's, Naruto with a bowl of Ramen and Kagome had a bowl of Oden in front of her.

"Kagome, Naruto, why would you paint the Hokage monument? You know who the Hokages are, don't you," Iruka asked.

Kagome didn't reply too busy eating her Oden, but Naruto did, "Of course I know! But I'm going to be the best! I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever!"

"Kagome?"

Kagome finished the last of her Oden, "I just thought they looked a little dull, a little paint seemed to bring them out more."

Iruka fell down anime style, "Really?"

"Yup! I'm not going to bother to become Hokage, because as long as I can protect my precious people, I don't really mind."

Iruka smiled about the precious people part.

"Hey, Iruka Sensei, can I as you a favor?" Naruto said, gaining his attention.

"You want another bowl?"

"No, can I try on your headband?"

Iruka chuckled, "Pass the exam tomorrow and you'll get your own!"

* * *

Naruto sat on the swing outside of the academy, Kagome stood, leaning on the pole next to it.

"Come on, Naru, it isn't that bad. There's always next year," Kagome said, trying to cheer up the blond.

"How can you be so cheerful? You failed, too," Naruto said.

Kagome sighed, "I know, but the reason I failed was because I have too much chakra, just like you, so I know that there isn't anything I can do about having to much chakra. So I know that I tried my best, but next time I'll work even harder."

Kagome did have too much chakra, her miko powers gave her extra chakra, and the fact that she had more miko energy than Midoriko also posed as a problem. She may have learned to control her Miko powers but she didn't have enough chakra control to make a regular Bunshin possible, which used very little chakra and still needed very good chakra control.

"I guess you're right," Naruto finally said.

"Kagome, Naruto!" They turned and watched as Mizuki walked up to them.

"I'm sorry you both didn't pass. Don't blame Iruka, I know he can be harsh, but he means well. He just doesn't want you to get killed," Mizuki said trying to be comforting.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, Mizuki had never been kind to them, he hated Naruto and in essence her, because she was always with Naruto. He had never taught them anything and ever since he had tried to teach them different things, she had refused to call him 'Sensei'. So when Mizuki tried to be nice to them, warning bells immediately went off in her head.

"I know you both really want to pass, so I'll tell you something that Iruka didn't tell you," Mizuki said.

Naruto perked up and she tilted her head.

"There is actually a make up test. The make up test is to steal the forbidden scroll from the Hokage tower and if you can learn one jutsu from it, you automatically pass."

She could imagine the devil's horns on Mizuki's head as he said this.

"But isn't that scroll, oh I don't know,  _forbidden_ ," she asked.

"Oh, no, that's only the name. You have nothing to worry about, Kagome. I'll meet you both by the cabin in the forest, okay?"

They both nodded, Naruto happy at the thought of getting another chance.

Mizuki nodded and left.

As soon as Mizuki was out of sight, Kagome turned and dragged Naruto home, muttering about planning and Hokage.

* * *

"We need a plan. We can't do this half-assed," Kagome said, as they both sat on the couch in the living room.

"True, we are sneaking into the Hokage tower," Naruto agreed, he paused then continued, "Do you think we should tell jiji?"

Kagome smirked, "Of course we're going to tell him, when I said we needed a plan, I meant we needed a plan to make sure we become genin, today."

Naruto's eyes widened, then he smirked, "Ne, ne, Kag-chan, you are positively devious today!"

Kagome's grin was feral, "Why thank you Naru-kun!"

* * *

"We," Kagome gestured to Naruto and herself, "have a piece of useful information, that you may find interesting."

"Really, and what might that be," the Hokage raised an eyebrow.

Kagome smirked, "Ah, wouldn't you like to know, however there is a price."

The Hokage was amused, "You know, I could charge you for keeping vital information to yourself that jeopardizes the safety of the village."

Kagome nodded, "True, but then if you did charge me, I'm a minor so I could easily get off, but also, you would not know the info."

"I could hand you over to Ibiki. However, if this is concerning the village Kagome, I need to know," The Hokage said, all traces of amusement gone.

"Oh, calm down, we were going to tell you anyways. Don't forget, this is our home, too," Kagome replied.

"I agree, even if I don't have many happy memories here, I would not do anything to harm Konoha, after all a Hokage protects it's village, and having a traitor in the midst would be damning it," Naruto said.

"A traitor?"

"Yeah, Naru and I failed the genin exams. When we were sitting outside, Mizuki came up to us and told us about a "Make Up Test"," Kagome said putting air quotes around make up test.

"A make up test?"

"Yeah, he told us to steal the forbidden scroll from the tower and learn one jutsu from it, then we can pass," Naruto said.

The Hokage sat on his chair, puffing on his pipe while thinking.

"I want you both to go through with it."

"Huh," twin faces of shock looked at him.

Finally Kagome, coming out of her shock first, said, "Are you feeling okay? Do you have a fever?"

The Hokage just looked at Kagome amused, "Really Kagome, the only way to catch Mizuki is in the act. I also want to test the tower's security. If two kids can get in without being caught, then the tower needs an upgrade in security. Plus, if you do manage to get the scroll and learn the first jutsu in it, I will make you genin and this will count as an A-rank mission."

"Who are you and what've you done to the old man," Naruto asked.

The Hokage chuckled, "So does that mean you don't want to do it?"

"No, no, we'll do it, we're just…" Naruto was at a loss for what to say.

"Surprised, so if this is a mission, do we get paid," Kagome asked.

"No, the fact that I'm letting you two become genin if you learn a jutsu from the scroll will be your payment."

Kagome and Naruto both nodded, they turned to leave, "And Kagome," the Hokage called.

She turned, "Hai?"

"Don't test me about keeping information."

"It was a joke, honest!" Kagome defended herself, her arms waving in surrender.

The Hokage nodded and waved her away.

* * *

"So, how are we going to get the scroll," Kagome asked Naruto as they both sat on the couch in the living room once again.

"Well, we could use that fifth secret passage to get in to the tower, the one only a few know about," Naruto suggested.

"Hm," Kagome got up and walked over to the bookcase on the other side of the living room. She moved a few books around until she finally saw the one she wanted. She took the book out, the cover was a dark green and made of velvet, it was thick and looked new.

She opened the book and Naruto saw that the inside of the book was hollow, but in it was a folded up piece of paper.

"What's that?"

"This is a map of the Hokage tower that I made, including secret passages," Kagome replied.

Naruto's eyes widened, "And you didn't tell me about this because…"

"You get in to so much trouble now, what would happen if I gave you a map of the place, you would run poor jiji scarce."

"Oh. So, we can take this passage…"

They spent the evening planning out what they would do and how they would get out, escape routes and everything they could think off.

When night finally came, they were fully prepared for what they had to do. Naruto and Kagome both wore identical clothing, they were dressed in a black tank top, black cargo pants and black ninja sandals. A black hat covered Naruto's blond hair and Kagome had her hair up in a ponytail.

They made sure to stock up on kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags.

"Ready," Naruto whispered.

"Yeah, let's go," Kagome said.

They climbed out the window and disappeared in the night.

Getting into the Hokage tower was easy enough, they took the route they had planned and slipped in. They were outside the Hokage's office, when they heard shuffling inside and froze.

They looked at each other, there wasn't supposed to be anyone inside, especially not this late at night. They retreated to the end of the hallway, where there was a turning point. Kagome peeked around the corner.

The door opened from inside the office and the Hokage came out, he yawned and with the key in his hand, he locked the door and came towards the corner where Kagome and Naruto where hiding.

Kagome motioned Naruto to follow her and to be quiet. They went back towards the reception desk and squeezed in under it, not making a sound.

Kagome signed,  _'The Hokage is here, we have to wait until he leaves.'_

Naruto nodded,  _'Okay. Let's wait about 10 minutes,'_  he signed back to Kagome.

Kagome nodded.

They waited, not daring to move out from under the desk. Heart pounding in her chest, adrenaline flooded her veins as the longest ten minutes of her life passed.

Kagome checked if all was clear, she motioned to Naruto to begin moving again.

They were outside the Hokage's office again. Checking to make sure no one was inside, Kagome quickly took out the lock picking set she had acquired a few years ago. She slid the first tool inside, then picking out another one, she slid it inside while Naruto kept watch.

She turned and twisted it once more, they heard a lock click and Kagome turned the doorknob and opened it softly.

They quickly went inside and Kagome closed the door behind them, locking it again. She put her tools back in her pouch and interlaced her fingers so that Naruto could stand on them.

Naruto stood on her hands and kawarimied inside by switching with a scroll, which was inside the hidden room. Kagome caught the scroll silently and swiftly. She pulled out another scroll from her pack and placed it on top of the one she had caught.

She looked at her watch, two, one, now. Naruto Kawarimied out of the room with the forbidden scroll, switching with the two other scrolls in Kagome's hands.

Naruto tied the scroll on his back and Kagome opened the window latch and Naruto escaped from it. She shut the window, redoing the latch on it. She carefully made her way to the door and unlocked it, making sure no one was there.

She opened it and using her tools, she re-locked the door and slipped out the escape route that she and Naruto had planned for her.

She took to the alleys and quickly made her way to the cabin in the forest, where she would meet up with Naruto.

"Did you get out okay," Naruto questioned as she landed beside him.

"Yeah, I don't think the ANBU noticed anything. Open the scroll, we only have about a few hours before Mizuki comes for the scroll."

Naruto nodded and unfurled the scroll.

Kagome shook her head, "Of course if we learned this the old man would pass us."

"Stupid Bunshin!"

Kagome read the description for the jutsu, "Hey, you know this actually might be easier, this takes way more chakra and the clones are solid, plus you get the memories of the clone."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get started," Naruto said.

Kagome nodded and together they started working on the Kage Bunshin.

A few hours later a bunch of Kagome's and Naruto's stood all over the place.

"Sweet!"

"Believe it!"

Kagome's eyes widened, "Someone's coming!"

They both quickly dispersed their clones and stood in the clearing waiting for the person to show up.

To their shock, Iruka Sensei showed up.

"Naruto! Kagome! What do you think you are doing!"

"What do you mean Iruka Sensei?" Naruto asked, playing dumb.

Kagome quickly followed his lead, "We're doing the make up test, so do we pass?"

"Make up test? What are you talking about?"

"Well, Mizuki Sensei said that if we stole the forbidden scroll from the Hokage tower and learned a jutsu from it, we could pass," Naruto said.

Kagome nodded.

"There is no such test, give me the scroll," Iruka said, but Mizuki appeared on the branch of a tree on the outside of the clearing.

"Well, I see you have the scroll. Give me the scroll," Mizuki demanded.

"Naruto, don't listen to him, he's trying to trick you," Iruka shouted.

"Naruto, do you know why the villagers all hate you," Mizuki asked.

Kagome froze at those words, she knew what was coming.

"W-what," Naruto stuttered.

"It's because 12 years ago, the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi no Youko in to a baby, and that baby was you," Mizuki had a psychotic grin on his face, "You are the Kyuubi, that is why everyone hates you!"

"No! Naru don't listen to him," Kagome desperately shouted, hoping her words would reach Naruto, she ran over to him and hugged him, "Naru, I've known about the Kyuubi being sealed inside you since you moved in with me, yet I never hated you. Please Naru, listen to what I'm saying."

"You knew? But I-I'm the Kyuubi," Naruto said sadly.

Kagome pulled back from the hug, "Look at me Naru! You are not the Kyuubi! Tell me something, Naru, if a kunai is sealed in to a storage scroll, is that scroll the kunai?"

Naruto shook his head, "But-"

"How touching," Mizuki growled, he took out a windmill shuriken and flung it towards the two kids.

Iruka's body moved on its own as he covered the two academy students. Kagome seeing this, flew through hand seals and a barrier went up over the trio.

The windmill shuriken hit the barrier and clattered to the ground. Iruka's jaw dropped open at the sight of the barrier. He'd had no idea that Kagome could do such a powerful jutsu!

"Naruto, let's show this traitor what we do to those who hurt our precious people," Kagome said.

She and Naruto stood beside each other and together they shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Hundreds of Naruto's and Kagome's appeared around the clearing, leaping at Mizuki and beating him to a pulp.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait," Iruka said, shaking his head, "You authorized these two to take the forbidden scroll so that you could root out Mizuki as a traitor? And this was an A-rank mission that Naruto and Kagome took on?"

The Hokage nodded.

Iruka, along with all the Shinobi that had went out looking for Kagome and Naruto, along with several ANBU who guarded the Hokage office, were gathered inside the office as the Sandaime explained what had happened.

"Along with proving that Mizuki was a traitor, Kagome and Naruto were also checking the security around the Hokage tower and I must say, they got in and out without anyone noticing for a few hours," The Hokage said, the ANBU shifted uncomfortably.

Kagome cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her, but she ignored them and focused on the Hokage, "You said if we learned the first jutsu in the scroll, we could become genin."

The Hokage smiled at her, "By all means, please do the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

"Kage Bunshin?"

"No way, no one could learn that in a few hours, especially not the dead lasts."

"Impossible!"

Naruto and Kagome grinned and made the hand seal and three clones of each, Kagome and Naruto appeared.

"Well done, and here are your head bands," The Hokage praised,

"Ooh! You got my cloth in black!" Kagome said excitedly as she tied hers around her waist. Naruto grinned and tied his headband around his forehead.

* * *


	9. Teams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and/or Naruto.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

"Along with proving that Mizuki was a traitor, Kagome and Naruto were also checking the security around the Hokage tower and I must say, they got in and out without anyone noticing for a few hours," The Hokage said, the ANBU shifted uncomfortably.

Kagome cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her, but she ignored them and focused on the Hokage, "You said if we learned the first jutsu in the scroll, we could become genin."

The Hokage smiled at her, "By all means, please do the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

"Kage Bunshin?"

"No way, no one could learn that in a few hours, especially not the dead lasts."

"Impossible!"

Naruto and Kagome grinned and made the hand seal and three clones of each, Kagome and Naruto appeared.

"Well done, and here are your head bands," The Hokage praised.

"Ooh! You got my cloth in black!" Kagome said excitedly as she tied hers around her waist. Naruto grinned and tied his headband around his forehead.

* * *

**Now:**

"Hey, Kagz," Naruto said, as they were once again sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Hm," Kagome hummed as she looked up from the headband she was holding in her hands, trying to decide how to wear it, should she put it around her waist, neck, arm or somewhere else?

"You said that you knew about the Kyuubi being inside me since I moved in, how did you know?"

Kagome froze, she knew this was eventually going to come up, but she didn't think it was this soon!

"I-" Kagome sighed, and decided to tell Naruto the truth, well, the partial truth.

"Naru, I haven't told this to anyone, you are the first person to know, you can't tell anyone, because if they found out, they would want to harness the power that I have for their own gain and my life would be in even more danger than the average kunoichi," she said with the utmost seriousness.

Naruto nodded.

"I am a miko."

"Huh? How does that help you know that the Kyuubi is sealed inside me?"

"A miko is a shrine maiden, a priestess. We are holy beings; we have pure energy or holy energy that we can use to purify and sense demons. I sensed there was a demon nearby whenever I was around you, but you didn't feel like a demon, then by the time you moved in, I had enough control over my miko abilities to pinpoint where a demon is exactly, and I noticed it focused on your stomach, then I put it all together, all the villagers, the mentions of the 'fox brat' when they glared at you," Kagome explained.

Understanding lit Naruto's eyes, "Oh, so that's how you knew."

Kagome nodded.

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head at Kagome's questioning glance.

"Naru, what's on your mind," Kagome asked, knowing the look on Naruto's face.

"It's just- I-, never mind. It's stupid," Naruto said, shaking his head again.

"Naru, what is it?"

"Can you purify the Kyuubi inside me?"

Kagome blinked, that was unexpected.

"I'm sorry Naru, but I don't think I can purify the Kyuubi without hurting you or purifying you along with the Kyuubi and I'm not willing to risk it."

"But, if you could get rid of the Kyuubi, it would be worth it!"

"And lose my best friend in the process! I think not!" Kagome said, her eyes flashing at the thought of voluntarily hurting Naruto, 'That baka!'

"Give up, Naru, I'm not even going to consider it, much less try it, no matter what you say."

"Fine," Naruto pouted, but he was silently happy that she had refused because it was at the cost of his life.

Kagome pursed her lips, "If you want," she hesitated as Naruto perked up; she had to be very careful, "If you want, we can talk to the Kyuubi," she suggested.

"Really? Do you think he'll talk to us?"

Kagome snorted, "What else does he have to do?"

Naruto grinned and nodded, he was a bit nervous about meeting the Kyuubi and a little afraid, now that he thought about it.

"Okay, lift up your shirt and focus chakra to your stomach to make the seal appear," Kagome said.

Naruto closed his eyes and lifting his shirt up, he focused his chakra to his stomach.

Kagome put her middle and index finger together, she concentrated her miko energy to coat the two fingers and pressed it to the middle of the seal, she concentrated on pulling them both in to Naruto's mindscape. Midoriko had taught her this little technique in her dreams when she had found out what a jinchuuriki was and later befriended Naruto.

She hadn't tried it until now, but it had obviously worked since both of them were standing in a sewer of sorts.

"Whoa! This is my stomach…"

Naruto was awestruck at the sight. He looked beside him and saw Kagome with an amused expression.

"Yup, this is your stomach, hm, I kinda figured it would be a dumpster, but I guess it wasn't big enough, what with all the Ramen you eat," Kagome teased.

"Hey," Naruto made a mock indignant sound.

Kagome giggled, "Come on, my senses are telling me to turn here," she said as they came upon another hallway.

They arrived in a huge chamber with golden gates blocking a huge section of the room, where low growls were coming from.

On the middle of the gate was a seal, the same design as the one on Naruto's stomach.

Slanted red eyes appeared behind the gate.

"Wow, you're the Kyuubi!"

Naruto's shout echoed across the chamber.

" **No, I'm the bunny from hell, of course I'm the Kyuubi. What, did you think there was some OTHER demon sealed inside you?"** The Kyuubi growled out sarcastically.

"Hey! Don't be mean to Naru! This is the first time we've seen you, so excuse us of being a little awestruck," Kagome retorted.

" **Awestruck, you should be, you are in the presence of Kyuubi-sama, the king of the demons."**

"King of the demons?" Kagome asked.

"So, why'd you attack the village," Naruto asked.

" **They threatened something of mine,"** the Kyuubi growled, his red eyes flashing.

Kagome and Naruto blinked, this was new, every time they learned about the Kyuubi's attack, it was because the Kyuubi was in a rage or that someone had unleashed it on the village, usually the latter, but never had they heard about the Kyuubi being provoked.

"Um, so what's your name," Kagome asked, steering the conversation on to safer topics, it wouldn't do to have the Kyuubi get mad.

" **My name? I am the great KURAMA-SAMA,"** he boomed.

'Wow, so we have the king of demons, with an ego larger than itself,' Kagome thought.

" **Miko."**

Kagome's head snapped up at the title, warning bells rang in her head, "Hai?"

" **Do not try to get rid of me, the** _ **Yondaime**_ **tied my life force with the brat there, so if you do, remember, you'll be purifying the brat, too."**

The Kyuubi laughed at their shocked faces.

Kagome's eyes widened in horror at the thought. She looked to the side and saw Naruto with his eyes widened and mouth open.

"Okay, I think we've stayed long enough, I think it's time to go, now," Kagome said, grabbing Naruto's arm and shaking him out of his stupor.

Naruto jerked and nodded, Kagome pulled them out of Naruto's mindscape and back to the couch in their living room.

After a few moments of silence Kagome spoke up, "Well, aren't you glad I said no?"

Naruto just nodded.

"Why don't we go to sleep, we are getting our teams tomorrow," Kagome said trying to cheer up the blond.

Naruto nodded, then grinned at her. She smiled, hugging him, she pecked him on the cheek and together they both got up and went to their respective rooms to think about what had just happened.

* * *

|Dream|

Darkness surrounded her, black, everything was black, she felt scared, where was she? Suddenly, a beautiful white glow appeared. At first it was blurry, then she saw the pure white turn to a glowing red. It slithered toward her, she tried to use her voice, but nothing came out. She tried to block it using her arms, but she felt her arms tied behind her back, she tried to kick out, but noticed she couldn't feel her legs.

The red slithered closer, as it came closer it took the form of arms, she felt a sense of helplessness settle in. She noticed as the red arms came closer to her, that the red was actually blood and the white glow she had seen before was the pale color of the arms.

The arms were closer now, she could see the red blood dripping down them and falling away in to the darkness.

|Dream End|

"KAGOME!"

Kagome awoke with a gasp.

"Huh," she said unintelligently.

"Wake up, we're getting our teams today," Naruto said.

Kagome smiled, seeing that he was back to his hyperactive self. Then groaned, she turned and buried her head back in to the pillow.

"You go ahead, I'm gonna get some more sleep," her muffled voice came out from underneath the pillow. She had never been a morning person, in any world.

"Oh come on, Kagz, don't be like that," Naruto said, bringing out the puppy dog eyes.

Kagome snorted, Naruto was adorable, really, but it just didn't work on her.

She, instead of arguing, turned her own puppy dog eyes toward Naruto, and they were bleary from sleep, so that made her eyes look teary and she added in a trembling lower lip for good measure.

'3… 2… 1,' Kagome mentally counted down in her head.

"Fine!"

'Score!'

"Mm, sleep," Kagome snuggled in to her pillow, Naruto rolled his eyes and left her alone, or so she thought, until she felt a bucket of ice cold water dropped on her.

She lifted up her wet bangs from her eyes to give Naruto her Glare of Doom. Naruto laughed, throwing the bucket in the corner of her room, he jumped out the window that was located in her room.

"NAAARUUUTTTOOOOOO," Kagome screamed.

She could hear his laughter all the way from the street, as he ran towards the academy. She growled and shivered.

She got up and went to the bathroom, there was no use going to sleep in a cold and soggy bed.

She took a quick bath and brushed her teeth.

She wore a dark blue tank top with a full-sleeve fishnet shirt underneath, black cargo pants and black ninja sandals. She wore her kunai pouch on her right leg, her hair was in a high ponytail and her headband around her neck, the crystal was hidden under her tank top. Her tank top was made especially for her, it had all sorts of hidden pockets, though at a glance you wouldn't notice anything.

She quickly cleaned her futon and laid the mattress and the sheets to dry.

She growled and jumped out the window, racing to the academy before she was late. She was going to kick Naruto's ass when she got her hands on him.

She arrived at the door and slid the door open harshly, and the sight that greeted her was not at all surprising, Naruto was on the desk glaring at Sasuke and Sasuke was glaring right back at him.

She looked around the room, the fangirls were shouting at Naruto, Shikamaru was sleeping, Chouji was eating, Kiba was talking to Akamaru, Hinata was poking her index fingers together and blushing as she looked at Naruto, and she saw two boys talking to each other about a polaroid camera that one of them was holding. The other students were all either talking or staring at the scene.

She saw the boy behind Naruto tip his chair back, the chair hit Naruto's ass and he fell forward, his lips planted on Sasuke.

Everyone stopped.

Kagome quickly got out of her shock, snatching the camera from the boy, she took a picture of Naruto and Sasuke kissing.

Everyone blinked at the flash and the two boys started hacking and coughing.

Kagome grinned evilly, she took the photo that came out and looked at it, 'Ooh! Blackmail,' was the thought that kept running through her mind.

"Oh, Naruutooo," she said, singing his name.

Naruto tensed and slowly turned his head toward Kagome, his mouth opened in horror as he saw what she had in her hand.

Kagome held up the photo that she took and smiled sweetly at him, "Payback's a bitch, isn't it Naru-kun?"

She put the photo under her tank top and in to one of the hidden pockets that needed her chakra to open, and gave the boy his camera back.

She looked up and saw all the fangirls look murderously at Naruto.

Naruto jumped over the desk and ran behind her. Using her as a shield, he said, "You have that picture, right, I promise not to steal it from you if you save me from them."

Kagome pretended to think about it, "You won't try to steal the picture of you and Sasuke kissing?"

"No! I promise," Naruto said desperately, as he watched the rabid fangirls approaching.

"I really shouldn't but I'm in a good mood," Kagome said, she made a hand seal for her ultimate sexy jutsu, which she had also modeled after Sesshoumaru, hey, his name meant "Killing Perfection" and she swore, if she didn't consider him her brother she would so go after him.

A poof later and Kagome stood in her ultimate Sesshoumaru form, wet silver hair flowed down to his ass and his bangs stuck to his head, his chest was a hardened eight pack with water droplets on his skin, but instead of wearing swimming trunks like her sexy jutsu, he wore wet black khaki shorts that made his long pale legs stand out, which also had water droplets running down to his feet. The black khaki shorts that he wore, dipped low on his hips and for the final touch, she added a bigger water droplet than the others running down from his neck that disappeared into the V of his pants. (AN: DROOL! This is way sexier than Minato's Arashi form!)

She as Sesshoumaru, looked into the nearest girl's eyes with his molten gold eyes and said in a deep, soft, velvety voice, "I love the fire in the eyes of a delicate flower that's you."

The girls all shrieked and flew backwards, the blood spraying from their noses, covered the floor and knocked them out.

"I will never fall for a fake like you! My true love for Sasuke-kun will prevail," Sakura shouted.

Sesshoumaru turned towards Sakura, he put one finger under Sakura's chin, and tilted it up, putting his face close to hers and looking directly in to her eyes, he said "Do not be jealous my pretty little Sakura blossom, you are the only one for me."

Sakura blushed heavily and fainted, a small amount of blood dribbling out of her nose.

Kagome transformed back with a poof and smirked at Naruto, who was looking at her in awe. She walked to the back row and took a seat that was one away from Sasuke, forcing the blond to sit by Sasuke.

Sasuke just glared at her but she just smirked at him. He rolled his eyes and looked away.

She looked around, everyone was staring at her, "What? You all know I have a sexy jutsu, just like Naruto, what's the big deal?"

"Troublesome."

"Shikamaru," Kagome said, making him look at her, he raised an eyebrow, "Just spit it out. Why are they staring at me?"

Hearing that, all the boys and the other girls who hadn't been knocked out, which was everyone except Hinata, looked away.

"Troublesome, because you are the first one to ever stop, not one, but multiple fangirls in their quest to hunt someone who hurt their "love" before," Shikamaru explained, putting air quotes around love.

Before she could reply, groans came from the girls that had been knocked out. Slowly, one by one, they stood up, rubbing their noses and blushing. The girls all turned murderous eyes on Naruto once again, forgetting about the fact that Kagome had knocked them out. They slowly came towards Naruto as he used Kagome as a shield once again.

The door slid open, revealing Iruka standing there with a file.

He looked around at the scene, "Sit down, please," but no one heard him as everyone was talking and the fangirls were about to punch Naruto.

His patience ran out as he saw Sakura's fist about to connect with Naruto's head,"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" He roared at the class.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and there was a scramble for their seats as everyone found a seat and sat down. Sakura pushed Naruto out of the seat next to Sasuke and Naruto, muttering and grumbling, took the seat on the other side of Kagome.

"As of this day, you are all Shinobi of Konoha, you all have faced many different obstacles to come to this point, each harder and more difficult than the last. This is just the beginning, you are all only genin, you will eventually pass on to higher levels. Now, since there are an uneven number of graduates this time, one team will have four members rather than the standard three. I will now announce the teams. Team One will be-" Iruka said.

Kagome yawned, she nudged Naruto, he looked at her, "Who do you want on your team," she murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

Naruto leaned back, putting his hands behind his head, he muttered back, "Well, you, of course, and I guess Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, or Shino would do, I guess. Anyone accept teme and his fangirls. I would say Hinata, but I think she has some sort of fainting problem."

Kagome laughed softly, "I agree," she said.

"Team Seven will be: Higurashi, Kagome, " Kagome perked up at her name.

"Haruno, Sakura," Kagome groaned, 'Great, I've got one of the leaders of the Sasuke Fan Club.'

"Uzumaki, Naruto," Naruto and Kagome grinned at each other and high fived.

"And Uchiha, Sasuke, your jounin sensei will be Hatake, Kakashi, " Iruka finished.

Naruto groaned and Kagome just laughed, she didn't mind Sasuke, he wasn't so bad, at least to her.

"Sensei! Why do I have to be in the same team as a slug like Sasuke," Naruto shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk.

"Naruto! The teams are made to be balanced out! You are the dead last in the class and Sasuke is the rookie of the year, the dead last and the rookie of the year have to be paired together," Iruka shouted.

"Hn. Try not to get in my way, dobe," Sasuke commented.

"What'd you say, teme," Naruto shouted back.

"Hard of hearing?" Sasuke drawled.

Naruto made to lunge at Sasuke but Kagome held him back.

"Don't worry Naru, you can jump your boyfriend after class," Kagome said.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at her.

"Enough," Iruka shouted. He made to continue, but was interrupted again, this time by Sakura.

"Sensei, why do I have to be on the same team as that bitch, Kagome," Sakura asked.

"Because Kagome is very powerful in ninjutsu, which you are average in, the Hokage thought you could learn something from her," Iruka said.

'Well that shut her up,' Kagome thought as she looked at a blushing Sakura.

"Anything else," Iruka asked, irritated.

"Nope, you can continue," Kagome piped up.

Iruka glowered at Kagome and threw a chalk at her, which she dodged.

Iruka continued on announcing the teams. Team Eight was comprised of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba and their jounin sensei was Yūhi Kurenai. Team Ten was made up of Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, recreating the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and their jounin sensei was Sarutobi, Asuma.

* * *

The Hokage and the other jounin who had been given teams, watched as Iruka announced the teams, observing how the students reacted, there were many broken hearts, to say the least.

Sarutobi chuckled at Kagome's cheek, silently wishing Kakashi luck with her as a student.

"What do you think," he asked the jounin gathered in his office.

Kurenai hummed, "My team doesn't seem so bad, Hinata seems a little shy."

Asuma laughed, "Kakashi's going to have his hands full with this one if he passes them."

"And Kakashi, what do you think," the Hokage asked, "Will you pass them?"

"Hm, we'll see how they do," Kakashi said, taking out his book and opening it to his bookmark.

* * *

"Ugh! Where is he! We've been waiting for three hours," Naruto screamed out his frustration, "Even Iruka Sensei left! All the jounin have already come and picked up their teams, too!"

"Shut up, you baka! He's probably late because of a mission, or something," Sakura said.

"Naru, just put up a prank over the door and sit down," Kagome said, rolling her eyes.

"Hehe," Naruto cackled, he took the chalkboard eraser and rubbed it in the chalk dust at the bottom to make it extra dusty.

He grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the door and wedged the eraser between the door and the doorframe.

"Kagome! Naruto, stop that, that's our Sensei you're pulling a prank on," Sakura screeched at Naruto.

Inner Sakura, however, was singing a different tune,  _ **"Cha! I love this kind of thing! Our Sensei deserves it for being late!"**_

"Oh calm down, Sakura. Our Sensei is a jounin, he can dodge a simple eraser and if he can't, he doesn't deserve his jounin title," Kagome said.

"She's right," Sasuke agreed.

Sakura had hearts in her eyes, she squealed, "Of course, you're right, you are always right, Sasuke-kun!"

Just then the door slid open and a silver head poked in, the eraser dropping on the person's head.

There was a moment when everyone was still…

"Hahahaha! You…hahahaha…fell for it," Naruto gasped, then laughed harder. Kagome laughed along with Naruto, she couldn't believe that he actually fell for that old trick!

Sakura was apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Sensei! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen-"

Whereas Inner Sakura was saying,  _ **"Cha! Right on the mark! Ha!"**_

Sasuke just grunted but Kagome saw his lower lip twitch. After they were all quiet again, their sensei spoke.

"Hm, my first impression of you four is: I hate you. Meet me on the roof," he said, but before he could poof away, his attention was caught by one of his female students. (AN: This is one of the scenes I've been looking forward to ever since I started this fic!)

"Y-you do?" Kagome had made her eyes wide with tears in the corner, her lower lip trembling.

Kakashi was surprised, never in his life had a student actually pulled out the "Kicked Puppy Look" on him when he had said that, and it had never even begun to work, but looking in to her wide, blue eyes he almost fell for it.

Almost.

"Yup, especially you. Meet me on the roof," he said again, before poofing away. (AN: How many of you thought I was actually going to make him fall for it, huh? Be honest!)

Kagome pouted, "Damn! It didn't work."

"Sorry Kagz, better luck next time, but that was better than the one in the morning," Naruto said.

"Really?"

"Yup."

Sasuke and Sakura followed the talking pair up the stairs and on to the roof where they saw their Sensei leaning on the railing.

Kagome and Naruto sat beside each other, Sasuke took the seat on Kagome's left making Sakura sit beside Naruto on his right.

"Well, why don't we start by introducing ourselves? Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, etc. You first puppy eyes," Kakashi said pointing towards Kagome.

Kagome smiled sweetly, "Why don't you go first Sensei? Give us an example of what you like?"

Kakashi smirked behind his mask, not that any of them could see it, he was liking her already, "Okay. My name is Hatake, Kakashi, I like... Hobbies, I have many…My dream, none of your business."

'There let the brats chew on that,' he mentally smirked.

Kagome scowled, "So all we know is that you are a jounin, your name, which we knew already, you have a lot of hobbies, probably single from the lack of info, you like to read and there's probably not a lot of things you dislike, since you didn't even mention it."

"How do you know he's single," Naruto asked.

"Look at the book that's poking out of his pocket. Many guys who read that book openly without fear of their girlfriends are most likely single or perhaps gay," she said.

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Why, what book is that," Sakura asked obliviously.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, the female brunet was very good at gathering information, and how would she know about the book? She was a minor, she shouldn't know about Icha Icha.

"Regardless of what book it is, we need to get the introductions going," he interrupted, he didn't need parents coming to him saying he traumatized their precious daughter's mind. Though that only applied to Sakura, seeing as she was the only one who wasn't an orphan.

"You first," he said pointing his finger to Kagome then moving it to point at the blond beside her.

Kagome rolled her eyes.

Naruto grinned, "Okay! My name is Uzumaki, Naruto! I like Kagz, Ramen, pulling pranks and training with Kagz. I also like it when Iruka Sensei treats me to Ramen at Ichiraku's. I dislike Sasuke-teme. My hobbies are comparing different Ramen, and planning pranks with Kagz. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever! Believe it!"

Kakashi nodded, "You next, pinky."

"Oh! Um, my name is Haruno, Sakura, I like," She blushed and looked at Sasuke, "My hobbies are," she squealed and glanced at a stone-faced Sasuke, Kagome could swear she saw him twitch his eyebrow, "My dream is to become the," another squeal, blush and a glance at Sasuke.

Kakashi sweat dropped at the obvious obsession, "And what do you hate?"

"I hate Naruto, Kagome, and Ino-pig!"

Kakashi mentally sighed, so far he had a ramen-obsessed prankster, and a rabid fangirl, he hoped the other two were at least semi-normal, but looking at the other two, he felt the hope drain away.

"The brooding one, next," he said.

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke. I do not particularly like anything, and I dislike a lot of things, my dream," he paused, "No, my  _ambition_ is to kill a certain someone to avenge my clan, and to rebuild the Uchiha clan."

"Cha! Sasuke-kun you're so cool," Sakura said, her hands clasped together and hearts appearing in her eyes.

Kagome sighed at this, she had tried to get him out of his I-Must-Have-Vengeance-Even-At-The-Cost-Of-My-Life mentality, but hadn't had much success.

"Last," Kakashi nodded in her direction.

"My name is Higurashi, Kagome. I like Naru, Oden, pulling and planning pranks with Naru, and training with Naru. I also like Dog-san, I don't meet him much any more though. I don't like fangirls or fanboys," at this she looked directly at Sakura and shuddered a little at the latter, "I also don't like revenge obsessed ninja, who are too blind to see what they have and will throw their lives away to make their _ambition_ of revenge come true," she said, using 'ambition' instead of dream, like Sasuke had, "My dream is to be strong enough to protect the people I love," she finished cheerfully, but then paused, thinking about something, "Oh! Wait! I also love blackmail!"

He watched as both of the boys' faces paled as she said that. He wondered what kind of dirt she had on the boys. (AN: Remember, the jounin and the Hokage only saw Iruka announce the teams, they didn't see anything that happened before Iruka came in.)

'Okay, so I have a ramen-obsessed prankster, his partner in crime who is semi-normal even if she is a little bi-polar, a rabid fangirl, and an avenger. Joy,' Kakashi thought.

"Great, now we all know each other. Tomorrow we have a survival test," Kakashi said.

"But, Sensei, we already did survival tests in the academy," Sakura said.

Kakashi chuckled, "Oh, you won't like this. Out of the 28 graduates, only nine or ten will become actual genin. There is a 66% fail rate. We will meet at training ground seven at 6:00 am sharp. Oh and if you don't want to puke, I suggest you skip breakfast," Kakashi chuckled at the brats' shocked faces one more time then poofed away.

"Well, we better go prepare, huh Naru?"

"Oh, yes, we have to survive after all."

Naruto and Kagome's grins were feral as they jumped away.

* * *

"Okay, let's see," Kagome said, as she and Naruto were once again sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Well, from the book he was carrying, he's a pervert," Naruto speculated.

"I only saw the orange cover, but the way he hurried on after Sakura asked what kind of book it was, there was no doubt that it was perverted, but what kind?"

"The orange covers are hard to guess, did you by any chance see what part of the series it was?"

"No, it might be Icha Icha Paradise I, but it could also be Icha Icha Paradise IV, they both have the same cover color," Kagome growled.

"Damn. The first one is girl and boy, and the fourth one is about yaoi and yuri, right?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure, I think it might be the opposite," Kagome said thoughtfully.

"Wait," she said, coming to a halt.

"What?"

"Who says we even have to fight Kakashi Sensei, I mean other than the fact that we have a survival test, he could just as easily throw us in a forest and tell us to find him."

"True, but we're meeting at training ground seven and as far as we know, there aren't any forests there aside form the random tree," Naruto said.

"That's true, but he could easily take us to another training ground," Kagome said.

Naruto hummed in thought.

"Hey, that aside, do you think we should eat breakfast," Naruto asked.

* * *

"Hey, you think Sakura and Sasuke went to the training ground at six," Naruto asked.

"Probably, but Sensei was three hours late yesterday, if we turn up two hours late, it should be fine," Kagome said.

They were both sitting at the kitchen counter with a bowl of milk and cereal.

Finishing her cereal, Kagome got up and put the bowl in the sink, she took the sponge and washed her bowl, "Naru, you done?"

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto said, handing her his empty bowl and spoon. He took a cloth and started drying the spoons while Kagome washed the bowls.

Kagome nodded, she washed the bowls and gave them to Naruto to dry. She glanced at the clock.

"C'mon, we better get going, it's almost eight and I'm sure your boyfriend's getting impatient for his morning kiss," She teased Naruto.

Naruto groaned, "Teme's not my boyfriend!"

"Really? The picture I took says otherwise," Kagome said teasingly.

"I really hate you, you know that?"

"Love you, too! But seriously, we need to get going, it wouldn't do to have Sensei arrive before us," Kagome said.

Naruto nodded, he grabbed a banana for himself and threw Kagome an apple. They walked out the door and left for the training ground.

"Think Sakura will be mad," Kagome asked, biting into her apple.

Naruto laughed, "Wanna bet how much mad she'll be?"

"500 yen says she'll scream and try to hit us on the head and then try to talk to Sasuke, then she'll notice us eating and scream some more," Kagome said.

"Okay, I say she'll screech 'You're late!', then clench her fists and bop me on the head, and then she'll see us eating and complain, then she'll say 'Right Sasuke-kun'" Naruto said, grinning around his banana.

Kagome looked at him and grinned, "Deal."

Both shook hands.

* * *

As they entered the training ground, they heard Sakura screech, "Where are they! They were supposed to be here two hours ago."

"Aww, Sakura, did you missed us, I promise I'll be here for you next time," Kagome cooed.

Sakura saw that Kagome and Naruto were eating, "You're late! You two were supposed to be here two hours ago! Why are you eating? Sensei told us not to eat!"

Sakura clenched her fists and looked royally pissed, but didn't move to hit them.

"Wait, so who won," Kagome asked.

"Well, she did say 'You're late' and she went on about us eating, and then she clenched her fists, so we were both partially right," Naruto said.

"Um," Kagome took the last bite of her apple and threw the core into a nearby garbage can, "Let's just call it a draw?"

"Eh, sure," Naruto shrugged as he finished his banana and threw the peel in to the same garbage can as Kagome.

"Okay, so here are the answers to your questions and comments," Kagome said, as she turned to look at a fuming Sakura.

"Yesterday, Sensei was three hours late, and he didn't even seem to care, so we figured it was a habit and if it was a habit then he'd probably be late today, too. Also, Sensei didn't say we couldn't eat, he only made a suggestion. Plus, who the hell pukes after doing a survival exercise?" Kagome explained.

"Did you guys get here at six," Kagome asked and both Sakura and Sasuke shook their heads.

"I came at 5:45," Sakura replied, looking sheepish.

Kagome raised her eyebrow, "What about you," she asked turning towards Sasuke.

"7:50."

"See, there you have it, now only disturb me when Sensei arrives, I need to meditate," Kagome said.

She walked over to a tree in the training field and sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes, her hands resting in her lap.

* * *

Kakashi watched the four genin from where he hid in the bushes. It was pretty clear that Naruto and Kagome would work together, and that they both either hated or tolerated Sakura. Sakura fawned over Sasuke, Naruto hated Sasuke and vice versa, and Sasuke thought the other three were beneath him, but he tolerated Kagome because she used to live with him. If it came down to it, he'd wager that Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke would work well together, but Sakura would be difficult to incorporate.

Iruka had told him that Naruto used to have a crush on the pinky, but violent strikes to the head drove him away. Kagome hated fangirls and fanboys because she had a fan club of her own, and Sakura was a reminder of how the fanboys acted, though in his opinion, fangirls were much more vicious. Lastly, Sasuke, he hated Sakura because she was a fangirl, she may have wormed her way in to the Kunoichi of the Year spot, but in Sasuke's eyes, she was still just a weak little girl.

He looked at his watch, he'd been hiding in the bushes since seven, and it was nine now, he figured he'd give them at least three hours to get a bell. With that thought he poofed in to the clearing.


	10. YOU!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

Kakashi watched the four genin from where he hid in the bushes. It was pretty clear that Naruto and Kagome would work together, and that they both either hated or tolerated Sakura. Sakura fawned over Sasuke, Naruto hated Sasuke and vice versa, and Sasuke thought the other three were beneath him, but he tolerated Kagome because she used to live with him. If it came down to it, he'd wager that Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke would work well together, but Sakura would be difficult to incorporate.

Iruka had told him that Naruto used to have a crush on the pinky, but violent strikes to the head drove him away. Kagome hated fangirls and fanboys because she had a fan club of her own, and Sakura was a reminder of how the fanboys acted, though in his opinion, fangirls were much more vicious. Lastly, Sasuke, he hated Sakura because she was a fangirl, she may have wormed her way in to the Kunoichi of the Year spot, but in Sasuke's eyes, she was still just a weak little girl.

He looked at his watch, he'd been hiding in the bushes since seven, and it was nine now, he figured he'd give them at least three hours to get a bell. With that thought he poofed in to the clearing.

* * *

**Now:**

"Yo!"

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted.

Naruto went over to Kagome who had been sitting still and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook it lightly.

Kagome's eyes snapped opened, "Oh, is he here?"

Naruto nodded and motioned his head in their Sensei's direction.

"Well, you see, there was this old lady and I had to help her out with her groceries," Kakashi Sensei said.

"Aren't there genin teams for that," Kagome asked.

"Oh but this lady was poor, she couldn't afford genin teams to help her," Kakashi said.

"But if she was poor, then she would not have had so many groceries that it took you three hours to get to us," Kagome said.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Well, regardless of that, let's get started with the survival test that we all will be doing together."

The four genin stood all traces of their previous humor and amusement gone.

"You see these bells," Kakashi held up three bells, "You each must get a bell before noon, or you fail."

"Sensei, there are only three bells," Sakura pointed out.

"Yes, that way, at least one of you will fail and be sent back to the academy," Kakashi said, "If you want to get a bell before noon, you must come at me with the intent to kill."

He walked over to the three stumps and placed the timer on top of the middle one.

"Demo Sensei! We could hurt you," Sakura exclaimed.

"You couldn't even dodge that eraser," Naruto laughed.

"I agree, the Eraser-Wedged-in-the-Door is, like, the oldest trick in the book," Kagome said.

"Ignore the two class clowns, those who speak out the most are always the ones that you have to watch out for the least," Kakashi said.

In all of the worlds Kagome had been in, the modern world, the feudal era, and now this one, had at one time or another experienced someone ridiculing her, comparing her to someone else, or something other along those lines, so she was practically immune to the curses thrown at her, of course there were things that still got to her, but there weren't as many.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not immune, so when he heard his Sensei say that, anger bubbled in his veins, he glared, grabbing a kunai he made to lunge at his Sensei.

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was behind Naruto, twisting his arm back, he held the kunai at the base of Naruto's neck.

"Don't be so hasty, I didn't say 'Start', yet," Kakashi said. He eye smiled at the shocked faces looking at him, "I think I'm starting to like you guys."

He let go of Naruto and stepped back, "Start."

The four disappeared in the trees surrounding them.

'Hm, they can hide their chakra pretty well, Sasuke is to my left, up in a tree; Sakura is below him, hiding in the bushes; Kagome is in a tree to my right; Naruto is,' He blinked as the last person he was thinking of was standing in front of him.

"Hey! Kakashi Sensei! You and me are going to fight fair and square! Right now," Naruto exclaimed.

"You're a little weird compared to the others," Kakashi said.

"The only thing weird here is your hairstyle, old man," Naruto retorted.

"Alright, then. Shinobi Lesson 1: Taijutsu," Kakashi said, reaching in to his pocket.

Naruto tensed.

* * *

Kagome giggled, 'Good acting Naru, now we just have to wait until he takes out his book.' Kagome knew that Kakashi Sensei would not take them seriously, and if her hunch was correct, then he would be carrying around his book and would be reading it when he battled them for the bells.

Her thoughts took a random turn as she thought about Kakashi Sensei's hairstyle; it seemed familiar. She wondered where she had seen it before. She shook her head, now was not the time for this.

Kagome looked to the side, where her two Kage Bunshin stood and nodded, ready to give the signal.

She watched as her Sensei reached into his pocket toward a rectangular shape. He pulled out the orange colored book.

'Just a little more,' Kagome thought, she couldn't see the book properly, yet. Sensei opened the book; he turned his face to the book and turned with the book facing the right, showing Naruto his side.

'There,' Kagome thought, she nodded once at one of the clones, and the clone turned, making hand seals, it Kawarimied with the book.

The second clone caught the book and they jumped out of the tree.

Kakashi Sensei looked up, instead of his book, there was Kagome sitting in his hand, but she felt very light, suddenly there was a poof of smoke and Kagome disappeared from his hand.

'A clone, interesting, Naruto was a distraction to make me take out my book, then when I was facing her direction, she used a clone to Kawarimi with my book,' Kakashi thought.

Naruto jumped and landed beside the Kagome holding the book and took a defensive stance.

Kagome quickly flashed through hand seals, stopping at the last one as a Kagome clone held the book and Naruto defended the clone.

"Hey, Sensei, if you don't want your book to become a pile of ashes by Kagome's Katon, give us two bells," Naruto said as Kagome sucked in a breath laced with chakra.

"Very good, you have a clone holding my book, you as a guard to make sure I can't retrieve the book, and you have Kagome ready to do a jutsu on the book," Kakashi Sensei eye smiled.

Naruto grinned, "Hand over the bells, Sensei."

"But, you forgot one thing," Kakashi Sensei said.

"And, what's that," Naruto asked.

"You forgot to guard Kagome's back," with that, Kakashi disappeared and reappeared behind Kagome's back, he grabbed the back of her tank top and made to throw her against the tree, when she turned her head and blew out fire towards his face.

* * *

Kakashi quickly flashed through seals and hid underground. He decided to wait and see how they would react if they couldn't find him.

* * *

The fireball cleared, the clearing was empty except for her, Naru, and her clone, there was silence, then…

Kagome's eyes widened, "Oh my god! I fried Kakashi Sensei!"

With her hands, she signed,  _'There's no body. He's somewhere nearby. Act like I burned him.'_

"Wow," Naruto said, he walked over to Kagome.

' _Okay. Where is he?'_ Naruto signed.

Then it hit Kagome, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in horror, "Oh my…" She swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at Naruto who was beside her.

' _I don't know; if he had gone up, we would have seen him,'_ Kagome signed back.

"Naruto, you know how you mentioned Kakashi Sensei's hairstyle being weird?"

' _He's probably underneath us or somewhere underground.'_

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down, but still kept the conversation going.

"Yeah, what about it?"

* * *

Kakashi was amused by her choice of words and also a little curious. He had technically just died and she was talking about his hairstyle? Wait, could they have figured it out? But what had they figured out, that he was alive or that he was…

* * *

' _We need to move above ground,'_ Kagome signed and replied, "I was thinking earlier that it was familiar, who else do we know that has silver hair?"

"Well, Dog-san has silver…" Naruto's eyes widened at the implication, "Do you really think Sensei is Dog-san?"

' _Jump in to a tree when I nod,'_ Kagome signed.

Naruto nodded.

"Well, he does have the same hairstyle," Kagome said, she stretched her senses.

Sometimes her miko ability really came in handy when sensing others, especially those with a Kekkei Genkai, because the Kekkei Genkai was a trait passed down from demons that had mated with humans.

Being around the Uchiha clan for five years, even when she didn't have her memories, came in handy when sensing a Sharingan user nearby.

She could even sense the Hyuga Clan through their Kekkei Genkai by being in the same class as Hinata for so many years. She could also sense normal humans, but they were harder to sense. If Sensei was Dog-san, then she would be able to sense him because she knew that Dog-san had a Sharingan eye.

"You know it might be true, but Sensei is always late, aren't ANBU supposed to be uptight and punctual," Naruto asked. He was tense, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Kagome motioned for her clone to give her the book. The clone gave her the book and disappeared with a poof of smoke.

Kagome felt her Sensei move and she nodded, they jumped away as a hand came up from the ground, trying to grab at their ankles.

They both ran and jumped in to a tree, hiding in the branches as they saw their Sensei come out from under the ground.

* * *

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as they figured out that he was Dog-san. Oh well, they would have eventually figured it out, but he didn't expect them to figure it out so soon. He thought that if he pretended not to know them they wouldn't figure it out, but he guessed the hairstyle was a give away.

He had never really liked brats, he had always thought they were annoying until Naruto and Kagome, not that they weren't annoying, but they were more amusing than anything. A few years ago the Hokage had told him that his duty was to watch over Naruto and later on Kagome, to make sure none of the villagers harmed them.

He had eventually grown fond of the two brats, it was one of the reasons he agreed to take on this team, and maybe pass them, but he hadn't faced Kagome's wit and Naruto's attitude full on before. Thinking about this morning, he sighed, he would have to come up with some full proof excuses if this team did manage to pass.

'Okay, time to drag them underground,' he thought cheerfully as he walked toward where he sensed the two, he stretched his hand, but instead of grabbing Kagome's ankle, he grabbed air.

He came out of the earth and looked around. He sensed the two in a tree; he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, this time appearing on the same tree branch as the two genin.

* * *

Kagome and Naruto turned around to see Kakashi Sensei standing behind them on the branch.

"I commend you for getting my book, but I'll take it back, thank you," Sensei said as he grabbed the book then jumped down before Kagome could do anything.

"Okay, so Plan Book Fry didn't work," Naruto said, as they crouched on another branch in a different tree (AN: For some reason, I'm craving spicy fried chicken and it's affecting my writing ^_^').

"I got a good look at the cover, it was Icha Icha Paradise IV and it's the one with the boy and girl, although I think we should use the two girls," Kagome replied.

"Let's wait a bit, let the others go first," Naruto said, "What do you think?"

"Eh, sure. We should further develop our strategy," Kagome said.

"Also, is that really Dog-san," Naruto asked skeptically.

Kagome shrugged, "I think so… But Dog-san did say that he was called off duty around two or so years ago, remember? And when he caught me he said that jiji called him back to active duty to catch us."

"True, but Kakashi Sensei is always late, don't you have to be on time to be in ANBU?"

"A lot can happen in two years, plus even when he was Dog-san, we didn't see him unless we were in trouble, he was usually in the shadows, so…" Kagome trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.

"But, you know, if he is Dog-san, then we're going to have to change strategies," Naruto said.

Kagome groaned.

* * *

Kakashi's keen ears picked up on the sound of shuffling, ignoring it he turned a page in his precious book as he walked around the clearing. He dodged a kunai thrown towards him; he noticed the kunai land in a bush that had a ninja wire set up.

He was assaulted with numerous kunai and shuriken that he dodged and looked toward Sasuke. He noticed Sasuke move and saw a blur of pink as Sakura made to follow him.

'Hm, let's go after Sakura,' Kakashi thought.

Discreetly making a hand seal, he sent the bunshin off to the other side of the clearing where he could feel Sakura, but the bunshin stayed in the clearing as a decoy.

He disappeared using Shunshin and reappeared close to Sakura. He watched her look in the clearing and notice his bunshin, she stopped and hid in the bushes, he let her catch her breath before going up to her silently and crouching behind her.

His keen ears picked up a sigh of relief, 'this is too perfect,' he thought and heard her say, "Oh thank goodness, he didn't see me."

He grinned, not that you could tell behind the mask, "Psst, Sakura! Behind you," He said, he made a hand seal for a genjutsu.

"!" A scream was heard through out the training ground as Sakura fainted.

'Hm, I think seeing a Sasuke kunai and shuriken pin cushion was a little too much,' Kakashi thought, out loud he said, "Shinobi Lesson 2: Genjutsu."

He walked out from behind the bushes, and was assaulted by kunai and shuriken, again. Swiftly dodging them, he spoke up, "Oh, are you trying to finally get a bell? The others all failed, well, Naruto and Kagome had a good strategy, but they didn't utilize it properly."

"I'm not like the others, I'm better then them," Sasuke said darkly.

"Really? Well then, Shinobi Lesson 3: Ninjutsu."

A full ten minutes later, Sasuke was buried in the ground, "Well, you aren't too bad, but in terms of strength, Kagome and Naruto dodged the technique you are now stuck in. So I would say you're the same as the others," Kakashi said, walking away nose in his book, it was almost time for the bell to ring.

He heard a giggle, he looked up, where had that come from?

* * *

"Kage Bunshin," Naruto and Kagome said, making a clone each and sending them off to hide in the trees.

"Sexy Jutsu," Naruto whispered and transformed in to his girl counterpart, but this time she was wearing a light green tube top, making her boobs pop out and black booty shorts. He had different versions of his sexy jutsu, like Kagome, but this was his second most infamous one. She had long lashes, the mascara brought out her eyes and she had a light blush on her soft, velvety cheeks. Her blond hair, which was usually in two pigtails, was left to fall in soft waves down her back. Her body was to kill for; she had a perfect figure with a Double D boob size, a flat stomach, and long toned legs that seemed even longer with her wearing booty shorts.

"Sexy Jutsu," Kagome said, instead of transforming in to a sexy Sesshoumaru, she transformed in to an older, sexier version of her. Her hair was still long and black but it had blue highlights, her eyes were brought out with mascara, she had long eyelashes that hit her soft, rosy pink cheeks. Her boobs were also a Double D; she had a flat stomach and long toned legs with manicured and pedicured nails. She was wearing a yellow low-cut tank top, and shorts that came up to mid-thigh.

Time to put their plan into action.

They saw Kakashi Sensei come in to the clearing, Kagome giggled loudly to gain his attention as she sat on Naruto's lap at the base of the tree.

She saw Kakashi Sensei look up and come towards them to investigate.

Naruto lifted his head toward her and cupped her chin, lifting her face to look in to her eyes, "Kasumi-chan, I love you," he whispered and went to kiss her. (1)

Kagome blushed harder, and turned away, her eyes down, her long lashes brushing her cheeks, "a-Na-Narumi-chan, please, not here, someone might see us."(2)

"There's no one here but us," Naruto as Narumi purred. Narumi ran her hand down Kasumi's back, grabbing at her ass.

"I-I love y-you, too, Narumi-chan," she said, she was acting the shy part of their relationship, of course they both eventually switched it up, so as not to make it boring. She put her hands around Narumi's neck.

She saw Kakashi Sensei out of the corner of her eye, and gasped, pulling away from Narumi.

"Um, we didn't know anyone was here," Kasumi said, averting her gaze in shyness.

Narumi put her hands around her waist and pulled the other female back to her, "Would you like to join," she asked, teasingly.

"Na-Narumi-chan!"

"Ne, Kasumi-chan, you know you want it," Narumi said looking at her partner with half lidded eyes, who blushed harder.

* * *

Kakashi was speechless as he watched the two girls groping each other in the clearing, he absently searched for his students' chakra signature, Sasuke was still digging himself out of the hole, Sakura was passed out, Naruto and Kagome were in a tree some ways off and…

'Damn, I was hoping these two were actually older girls, damn Naruto, Kagome, and their sexy jutsu,' Kakashi thought, a little disappointed.

He watched as one of the girls approached him, Narumi, that's the name that Kagome had called her. She was the bolder one of the two; he deduced that she was Naruto while the brunet was Kagome.

"As much as I love to, I am testing my students," Kakashi said, making disappointment taint his voice, which wasn't hard.

The brunet looked crestfallen, but the blond slided up to him and ran her hands down his chest, looking up to him with big, crystal blue eyes.

He kept the blond in sight, as the brunet got up, "RRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!"

"Nice try you two, but you didn't hide your chakra signature well enough, and you ran out of time," Kakashi said, the two looked at him with pouting faces, transforming back.

"Damn, we ran out of time," Kagome said.

"We waited too long," Naruto said.

* * *

"Sensei, why am I tied to the stump," Sakura whined. Trying to look cute, she made her eyes big and teary. (3)

Naruto and Kagome were snickering in the background as it obviously didn't work and looked more repulsive than cute.

Kakashi was not amused, and bluntly replied, "Because all you did was scream and faint, twice."

Sakura winced and stayed quiet. The second time she had fainted was when she had seen her Sasuke-kun's head without his body.

"None of you will be sent back to the academy," Kakashi said as they all sat around the three stumps.

He let them sigh in relief and exclaim their happiness, as he watched them carefully, trying to see if there was any hope of this team passing.

"This doesn't make sense," Kagome spoke up, "None of us got a bell, yet none of us are being sent back to the academy, there is another meaning to this test, isn't there?"

"None of you are being sent back to the academy because you should all be dropped from the program, permanently," Kakashi said, ignoring Kagome for the moment.

"But you said if we didn't get a bell by noon, that you'd send us back to the academy," Sakura screeched.

There were cries of outrage and disbelief, 'Suddenly the academy doesn't seem too bad to you brats, huh,' he thought.

Sasuke had a kunai in his hand and ran to attack him, but Kakashi took control, putting Sasuke down with a foot and placed the brat's own kunai against his neck.

"YOU CAN'T STEP ON MY SASUKE-KUN LIKE A BUG," Sakura screeched.

Kakashi ignored her, "Kagome is correct in her assumption that there is another meaning to the test, anyone want to take a stab at it?"

Kakashi looked at Kagome who had a frown on her face and her lower lip between her teeth, as she thought things through. Kakashi saw the understanding that lit her eyes as she breathed out, "Oh, hell."

Naruto looked at Kagome, "What?"

"He is a jounin, we are genin, and there is no way we'd stand a chance against him. The only option would have been to work together," Kagome said.

Naruto repeated Kagome's earlier statement, as the pieces fell in to place, "Oh, hell."

"What? No way," Sakura said.

"Think about it, at the beginning, he said and I quote, 'let's get started with the survival test that  _we all_  will be doing  _together_.' Also, before that, on the roof, he said  _'we'_  not you guys, when he was telling us about the survival test."

"Indeed, the true purpose of this test was teamwork, why do you think you are put on teams of three and four? Naruto and Kagome worked together well, but you two were so involved with making me fall for your jutsu, that you left Sasuke and Sakura out. Sakura, you were so obsessed with Sasuke that you didn't even try to fight, you simply followed him like a lost puppy. Sasuke, you were so sure that the others were beneath you that the thought of teamwork never even entered your mind," Kakashi said.

"Sensei, you only had three bells, even if we had worked together and gotten the bells, there would've been a fight to get a bell," Sakura said.

"I was seeing if you could put your teammates' interest above your own. You all are just children, on a mission, you'll have a difficult choice to make, that will either help you or ruin you. There are no second chances in the world of the Shinobi. You can't mess up then say 'oops' and then do it again. Once you have made a mistake, it is there and cannot be erased," Kakashi let them take that all in.

"Kagome, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies," Kakashi barked out, pressing the kunai in to Sasuke's throat. He watched Kagome's eyes go wide. (4)

"This is what happens on a mission, you are faced with an important decision," He moved away from Sasuke and Sasuke quietly went and sat next to Naruto.

"Do you see this stone? It is the K.I.A stone, all the great Shinobi and heroes of Konoha are named here," Kakashi said, he walked over and placed a hand on the black stone.

"I'm going to get my name on that stone! I'm going to be a hero," Naruto shouted.

"Naru, K.I.A means Killed In Action, all the people there have been killed in the line of duty," Kagome said softly with sorrow in her eyes.

Naruto deflated as he heard that, there was a moment of mourning for the dead…

"I'm going to give the Hokage my report, and when I come back, I'll give you guys another chance, here are the lunches," Kakashi said, handing out the bentos, "But, you are not allowed to give any to Sakura, this is her punishment for not even trying to take the test seriously. If you do, you fail automatically."

He shunshined behind a tree to watch what they would do.

* * *

Kagome looked at her bento, she didn't like Sakura because she was a fangirl that hated her and Naruto, but she also didn't like to eat when there was another person who was starving and she could help.

She couldn't sense him near them, and her miko abilities sensed the Sharingan, but it was probably just Sasuke, so she ignored it, not bothering to pinpoint the direction.

Kagome bit her lip, she got up and thrust the box in to Sakura's face, "Here, Sensei's not here, eat it quickly."

"But, you'll fail! I can't eat this," Sakura said, her eyes wide. Her stomach grumbled and she blushed.

Kagome sighed, "Just eat it, if we're going to defeat Sensei, then we can't have a dead weight on the team. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, but if you're hungry, then it affects the team. Plus, me and Naru already ate, and knowing you because of your stupid obsession, you didn't eat dinner because you were on a diet and I know you didn't eat breakfast."

Sakura looked torn if she should obey her stomach or her Sensei.

"And anyways, Sensei didn't specify what 'any' meant. He only said not to give you any, that probably means food, I'm giving you a bento not food." Kagome said the last part for Sakura's benefit.

Naruto got up and did the same, holding his bento out to Sakura. Kagome smiled, and then narrowed her eyes at Sasuke who was quietly eating.

"Excuse me," Kagome said, she handed her bento to Naruto and went over to Sasuke and kicked him in the side.

"What," Sasuke growled annoyed.

"Get your ass over to her and offer her your lunch!"

Sasuke glared up at Kagome, Kagome glared back at him with her hands on her hips, Sasuke growled, "Fine."

He got up, walking over to Sakura he thrust his bento at her, "This doesn't mean I like you, if you're hungry then it affects the team and you're part of the team," he said gruffly. Turning to Kagome he said, "If she gets worse in her obsession with me, I won't ever talk to you again."

Kagome rolled her eyes and beamed, "Well, Sakura? Open wide!"

"Everyone, thank you," Sakura said, she had tears in her eyes.

* * *

Kakashi watched the four genin and smiled, then he sighed, he needed to start thinking up some valid excuses. He decided that it was time to scare Kami out of them and poofed into the clearing where the four stood.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME?"

He summoned thunderclouds and lightning, as he watched amused as the four cowered before him in fear, their eyes wide, as he stood over them.

"W-we are a t-team," Kagome said, "And if one of us d-doesn't eat we all feel it!"

"We're one," Sasuke said, looking like he hated himself as he said that.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto exclaimed, he was hiding behind Kagome, looking terrified.

"WHAT? YOU ALL ARE ONE?"

"YOU…" It was hilarious seeing them sweating as he delayed in announcing the verdict.

"Pass," he finished in a cheerful tone, doing a complete 180, the clouds and lightning disappearing.

"We do?" Sakura asked; her voice laced with disbelief.

"Yes, all the other teams that I tested all did as I said and did not feed their teammate. A ninja must see through deception and see underneath the underneath," Kakashi said.

"Let me tell you one thing," Kakashi said, all traces of humor gone, leaving only seriousness in his tone, "Those who disobey the rules are scum, but those who leave their teammates behind, are worse than scum."

The four nodded, then Naruto grinned, he grabbed Kagome picking her up he swung her around, "We PASSED!"

Kagome laughed and after Naruto put her down, she hugged him, and then jumping over to Sasuke, she hugged him.

Sasuke had a small smirk on his face and Sakura was smiling as everyone was celebrating, though she narrowed her eyes as Kagome hugged Sasuke and he didn't push her away (AN: Sakura's still tied to the stump).

" _ **Kya! Who does that bitch think she is? Hugging MY Sasuke-kun like that!"**_ Inner Sakura was ranting in her head.

"Ok, you all can go, I need to go to the Hokage to give him my report and make Team Seven official," Kakashi said as he shunshined to the Hokage Tower.

"Well, I'll see you guys later! C'mon Naru, I'll take you out for Ramen to celebrate, you want to come, Sasuke," Kagome asked as she started walking towards Ichiraku's with Naruto in toe.

Sasuke shook his head and walked off in the opposite direction.

A few moments passed, "HEY! LET ME OUT OF THESE ROPES," Sakura screamed as she was left alone in the training ground, still tied to the stump.

* * *

Kagome was lost in thought as she absently munched on her Ramen; questions ran through her mind, should she tell Sensei about her Kekkei Genkai? Should she show him her real strength? She hadn't even shown her real strengths to Naruto, and he lived with her. But, if he  **was**  Dog-san, then he would already know about her real strength because he would watch her teach Naruto the correct forms when the academy instructors taught him the wrong ones and more.

She would occasionally sneak out late in the night to do her own training by herself and Dog-san would watch her, occasionally giving a few tips.

It had started the first time she snuck out; he had thought that she was sneaking out to do a prank, so he had followed her. She had sat meditating in the clearing when a gang of drunken men came towards her.

At the time, she didn't know that they were drunk, just that humans were approaching her, so she didn't do anything thinking they would pass by. She had eventually found her core of Miko energy, when her concentration broke as the men surrounded her with sticks.

Dog-san had appeared in front of her and knocked them unconscious.

From then on, it became a normal routine: she would train, he would watch from the shadows, and sometimes correct her. She remembered once, when she was training with a katana, which was the first time he had ever given her advice.

~Flashback~

Kagome peaked out of her room, it was midnight and she needed to get her two hours of training in. She had promised Midoriko to do at least two hours of individual training daily.

She perked her ears, listening for anything that might indicate Naruto being awake. All she heard were soft snores, she walked out and closed the door softly, she toed on her sandals and quickly, but quietly, snuck out the front door.

She headed to the forest in one of the training grounds where she usually trained. She knew Dog-san was following her; he always did, to make sure she wouldn't get into trouble.

She faced one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, her katana in hand. She was practicing her kenjutsu.

She slid in to the stance that she had seen in a scroll, it was different from the stance she would normally practice with, which was the one Sesshoumaru had taught her. This stance was the one that had originated from Konoha and specialized in defense rather than attack.

She had been training for a good half hour when her frustration caught up with her after her katana had landed on the ground for the 63rd time.

"Why can't I get this right?" Sitting down beside her fallen katana, she took out the damn scroll and laid it in front of her. She studied it for a few minutes, when a voice came from the tree she had been practicing on.

"Move your left foot a bit outward and your right needs to be pointed inward," Dog-san said.

Kagome took a moment to blink, and another to process what he had said.

"You talked," she said, shocked.

"Yes, I did," said Dog-san.

"But, you- never mind," Kagome said, sighing and shaking her head.

She took the stance again, this time doing as the ANBU said, after that, it had gotten easier to manage the katana.

~End Flashback~

The thing with Dog-san was complicated; he knew bits and pieces, but not the whole picture. He knew that she had another chakra source, but didn't know that it was her miko energy.

After going to the Hokage to change her name, she had gone to Konoha's library and researched if there was a clan named Higurashi and found out that the clan was killed a few years back, and that little was known about them, but what was known was that they had another chakra source, and that the chakra was holy.

She also never trained with her Koryoku, so Dog-san did not know of that. She had figured out how to activate it after going over what had happened the first time. With the Sharingan, she had to imagine herself using it, and then focus chakra into her eyes and touch the person wielding the Kekkei Genkai with chakra coated fingers near the place where the Kekkei Genkai was located. This meant that she had to have a basic knowledge about the different Kekkei Genkais that she might have to go up against if she wanted to copy them. So far, she had only copied the Byakugan and the Sharingan.

When she was little and had activated it for the first time, she had unconsciously focused chakra in her eyes and fingers; getting the Sharingan was basically an accident.

Kagome was shaken out of her thoughts by Naruto's voice.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Kagome said sheepishly.

"I called your name like five times," Naruto complained.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Kagome said.

"Are you sure that's wise," Naruto asked, she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Are you sure it's wise to open your mouth," Kagome shot back, thinking about the picture in her pocket.

"So what were you thinking about," Naruto asked curiously.

Kagome smiled, a mischievous glint entered her eye, "I'll tell you when we get home," she promised, as she thought of a prank.

Naruto recognizing the glint in her eye, grinned, he knew that whenever Kagome had that glint, there was a prank brewing.

He slurped the soup from his 17th bowl, and putting it on top of the stack beside him.

"Jeez, Naru, I'm only on my fourth bowl, and I'm having trouble finishing it," Kagome said.

"I'll finish it for you," Naruto said, Kagome rolled her eyes and pushed her bowl towards him.

Teuchi smiled, "So, what's the occasion that calls for you to pay?"

"We are officially genin and a part of Team 7," Kagome grinned at the thought. She knew that Teuchi knew that she only bought Naruto ramen when there was a special occasion.

"I see, congratulations to both of you and you both get two bowls on the house," Ayame said smiling.

Kagome grinned, "Arigato Aya-nee, you saved me from spending our entire monthly allowance!"

Ayame and Teuchi laughed at that, they knew how much Ramen Naruto ate.

Teuchi grinned, "Well, Naruto and you, are our best customers!"

They talked for a while until Kagome finally dragged Naruto away after his 25th bowl, saying that she had only a little more money left and that they had to go to a lottery stand so he could win back some money.

Naruto was a lottery-winning machine; he had the best luck!

"Kagz, where are we going," Naruto asked.

"The lottery stand was that way," he continued on, pointing in the other direction.

"Oh, we aren't going to that one," Kagome scowled as she thought about the owner, he had tried to cheat them on the money they had won, not because of Naruto, but because they were kids.

"We are going to the other place that I found, the owner is pretty nice and he doesn't care who the customer is if they win. Don't get me wrong, he is a little nasty to the first timers at his stand, but once you win a few times, he warms up to you pretty fast," Kagome explained.

Before she came to the ninja world, she would have been terrified to go to the red light districts, but after she had faced demons, monsters, soul-stealing clay pots, and who knew what else, she was confident in her abilities to defend herself if needed. Plus, what were a few untrained humans verses demons and ninjas?

Naruto nodded, people in the red light districts didn't care who you were because they were criminals and out casts themselves, the only thing that made someone stick out was if that person was a kid. _Then_ , they tried to cheat you out of the money, thinking that you didn't know any better. They took a left and Naruto saw the stand that Kagome was talking about, littered with tickets.

"What's the percentage you get, if we win," Kagome asked. She knew how much it was, this was a test to see if he would cheat them.

"10," he said, his voice was gruff and a little unused. Kagome nodded.

"I want three tickets," Naruto spoke. No goofy grin, no smiling face, gone was the cheerful idiot, replaced with a serious kid that knew the in and outs of the red light district.

Kagome's face was emotionless as she pulled out a few dollars. The man behind the stall was tall and lanky; he wore black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. He had bags under his dull brown eyes, his cheeks were sunken and he looked like he was having a bad day.

The man had a scowl on his face as he held out his hand for the money. Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Tickets?"

The man smirked and held out three tickets. She gave him the money as Naruto took the tickets at the same time.

Naruto took out a penny from his pockets, and started scratching away at the tickets.

Naruto smirked as he won, Kagome looked over and saw that he had a straight win, the first one was for 15,000 yen, the second was for 55,000 yen and the last one was for 70,000 yen.

Naruto showed the tickets to the man.

It was amusing watching the man's sunken eyes bug out; he grabbed the tickets and gave them the money, keeping 10% of the pay.

"Here kid, you got some good luck," he said, his face turning into a smile, his day just got better.

"Thanks," Naruto said, he counted the money, giving half to Kagome and keeping half himself.

The man nodded to them as the two took to the roofs.

"He was nicer than I expected," Naruto said after a few minutes of jumping from roof to roof.

"Eh, well he doesn't exactly know who we are," Kagome said. She noticed Naruto looking down.

"No, not about the fur ball in your stomach, I meant the pranksters part," Kagome said, "You know they don't care about that."

They had started calling the Kyuubi 'fur ball' in public so that the people around them didn't know what they were talking about.

"Yeah, I know. But the thing is," Kagome looked at Naruto as he looked up at her, a wide grin on his face, "I hate acting so Sasuke-like!"

Kagome laughed, trust Naruto to think about that.

* * *

1) Kasumi-chan: Since there was a possibility of Kakashi being Dog-san, he would know about their Sexy Jutsu, so they had to switch it up a little.

2) Narumi-chan: Same as above, I know that Naruto's sexy jutsu is Naruko, but they had to switch it up.

3) The reason that Sakura was tied to the stump and not Naruto was because she didn't do anything except faint. Originally, Naruto was tied to the stump because he tried to eat the lunches early, but Kagome was with him this time and the fact that they had a plan that had a chance to work stopped him from eating the lunches.

4) The reason why Kakashi tells Kagome to kill Naruto to save Sasuke, instead of Sakura, is because he knows that Kagome has emotional ties to both of them, so it would be a harder decision.

* * *

~Omake~

"Kagome! Kill Sakura or Sasuke dies," Kakashi said, as he held the kunai to Sasuke's throat. What he didn't expect was for Kagome to jump up with a Kunai in her hand.

"Okay!" Kagome chirped, as she advanced slowly on the trembling fangirl. Kagome grinned and said, "One fangirl dead is one fangirl less."

Naruto's eyes were wide, trying to decide if he should help his once crush, 'Nah, it's fine, one fangirl won't make much of a difference.'

Sakura's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she slowly imagined Kagome as death; a long black cloak was billowing around her, as a black scythe was swinging towards her, "No! Get away from me you psycho bitch!" Sakura struggled against the ropes.

"Now, now Sakura, you should be happy," Kagome cooed.

"And why is that," Sakura screeched as she struggled harder.

"You're dying so your precious Sasuke-kun can live," Kagome grinned evilly.

Kakashi's one eye widened, he decided that that was enough and he quickly hurried on, "Err, I didn't mean to actually kill her. I was just saying that this is what happens on a mission."

Kagome stopped and turned, pouting, "You mean I don't get to kill her," she asked innocently.

Kakashi's lip twitched, she sounded so sad and innocent at the thought of not getting to kill Sakura. He should probably tell the Sandaime about Kagome's willingness to kill Sakura.

'She sounds like a kid at a candy store that was told by his mother that they couldn't get any candy,' Kakashi thought, out loud he said, "No."

"Aww, darn!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emerald: Sorry Kags! But I need Sakura so that I can have someone to bash, so you can't kill her.
> 
> Kagome: Aww! You suck!
> 
> Inuyasha: No, she doesn't, and I've tried, too.
> 
> Emerald: *Glare* because you're a two-timing, no good, bastard!
> 
> Kagome: *Blushes and Glares* HENTAI! *Pulls out a kunai and advances towards Inuyasha with a glare*
> 
> Emerald: O.O No! Don't kill him! I need him for the story! Just sit him a few times!
> 
> Kagome: *pouts* Fine! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!
> 
> Emerald: *Sighs in relief*


	11. Paint War

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

~o0o~

**Last Time:**

Naruto showed the tickets to the man.

It was amusing watching the man's sunken eyes bug out; he grabbed the tickets and gave them the money, keeping 10% of the pay.

"Here kid, you got some good luck," he said, his face turning into a smile, his day just got better.

"Thanks," Naruto said, he counted the money, giving half to Kagome and keeping half himself.

The man nodded to them as the two took to the roofs.

"He was nicer than I expected," Naruto said after a few minutes of jumping from roof to roof.

"Eh, well he doesn't exactly know who we are," Kagome said. She noticed Naruto looking down.

"No, not about the fur ball in your stomach, I meant the pranksters part," Kagome said, "You know they don't care about that."

They had started calling the Kyuubi 'fur ball' in public so that the people around them didn't know what they were talking about.

"Yeah, I know. But the thing is," Kagome looked at Naruto as he looked up at her, a wide grin on his face, "I hate acting so Sasuke-like!"

Kagome laughed, trust Naruto to think about that.

~o0o~

**Now:**

"Hey, Kaka-sensei," Kagome called.

"Hm," Kakashi looked up from his book and turned to his raven-haired female student. It had been two days since Team Seven had been approved and they had been doing D-rank missions nonstop.

In fact, they had just left from the Hokage Tower with another D-rank.

"Has there been a case where a genin team was banned from doing D-rank missions," Kagome questioned.

Whatever Kakashi was expecting her to ask, it wasn't this. He took a moment to blink, "Er, no. It's kinda impossible to fail D-ranks; after all, they're basically household chores. Why," Kakashi asked, suddenly suspicious.

"You want us to work together, right," Kagome asked instead. By now the whole team was listening to the conversation, even Sakura had stopped making hearts at Sasuke.

"Yes, but I also do not want you all to fail at D-ranks," Kakashi replied carefully.

"Aren't you tired of supervising household chores," Kagome asked, "What if we don't fail at them per say, we just use alternative ways to carry them out and perhaps not all of them would work?"

Kakashi studied his student, 'Well, for one, they could actually plan how to fail at them together, which would boost their teamwork. Two, it could get us out of doing D-ranks for good, but on the other hand, I'd get a tongue-lashing from the Hokage.'

Kakashi looked at each of his students and realized that they were all looking at him, waiting for his answer, "Well… I guess you could carry out the D-rank missions in an alternative way," Kakashi decided.

The smiles that Naruto and Kagome gave were blinding, even Sasuke seemed a bit less depressed and Sakura was beaming.

Kakashi mentally gave an evil grin as he thought about what he was going to say next.

"BUT, you all have to contribute something. It can't just be one or two people coming up with a plan, and the third carrying it out while the fourth doesn't do anything, each and every one of you has to contribute," Kakashi said.

Groans came from the four genin.

"Fine," Kagome reluctantly accepted.

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura said, a little unsure.

"Sure," Naruto agreed.

"Hn."

~o0o~

"Okay team, your D-rank mission is to paint the fence around the Kurosaki residence," Kakashi pointed to a brown house with a picket fence some ways away from where they were standing.

"Okay, let's sit down in a circle here and plan about what we're going to do," Kagome said.

Everyone sat down at Kagome's suggestion. Sasuke sat down beside Kagome, pulling Naruto down beside him on his left, leaving Sakura to sit between Naruto and Kakashi, who was on Kagome's right.

"Okay, so we have to paint a fence, any way we can get the job done but still get banned," Naruto asked.

"We could have a paint war," Sakura suggested.

Naruto and Kagome's jaws dropped, "Who are you and what have you done with our real rule-abiding-stuck-up-vain teammate," Kagome asked.

"I'm not that bad!"

"Moving on, is that even enough to get us banned," Sasuke asked.

"Well, the fence surrounds the house, right? Some parts are closer to the house, so we could spill paint on to the house," Kagome suggested.

"Why not spill paint on the lawn, too," Sasuke suggested.

"We could also use up all the paint and still leave unpainted patches on the fence," Naruto said.

"Alright, so we start a paint war which makes us spill paint on to the lawn and the sides of the house. We use up all of the paint and still leave a few unpainted patches, but the patches can't be too big," Kagome summed up and got nods of agreement from her teammates. They turned to look at Kakashi Sensei.

"That will definitely get you guys banned and you guys can also track paint on the roof of the house if you guys run on the roof to leave," Kakashi said, his eyes turned up in a U as he was faced with his students' shocked faces.

~o0o~

"Teme! Head's up," Naruto shouted as he flung white paint towards Sasuke.

Sasuke ducked, but a little of the paint landed on his hair. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, as Naruto was busy laughing, he took the paint bucket and swiftly, using his speed and the blonde's inattention, to creep up on him and pour the bucket of paint over the blonde's head. The white paint dribbled down Naruto's neck and on to his clothes, his blond hair now a shocking white. Sasuke quickly leaped away, a small smirk on his lips as he saw Naruto's wide eyes.

"This means WAR, TEME," Naruto shouted as they heard Kagome laughing in the background.

However, instead of pouring paint back on Sasuke, he took the paint bucket and threw it at a laughing Kagome.

Kagome swiftly reappeared behind the bucket, a grin on her face, grabbing it with a little of the paint spilling on the grass, she threw it at Sakura who was behind her, and covered her in white paint.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and grabbed the bucket, making sure there was still paint inside the bucket, she threw it at Kagome, who dodged and the paint was going to land on Kakashi but he dodged at the last minute. Kakashi gained an evil glint in his eye that made the students wary.

"Oh shit," Kagome said, and the other three genin couldn't help but agree with her.

And then…all hell broke loose.

~o0o~

Kagome and Naruto had shit-eating grins on their faces while Sakura was beaming and Sasuke had a smirk on his face as they all surveyed their masterpiece. White paint was splattered on the sides of the house and just a little bit less than half of the lawn was covered in it. The overall fence was painted but there were still little unpainted patches were the yellowing white paint showed.

"It's a good thing that old man Kurosaki isn't home," Kakashi idly commented as he stood behind his students, "Let's go report to the Hokage," he said cheerfully.

Kagome and Naruto cheered as Sasuke's smirk became more pronounced and Sakura's beam gained a wide smile.

"Last one to the Hokage's office has to treat the rest of the team to lunch," Kagome declared, before she jumped on to the Kurosaki's roof, leaving white paint all over it, and took off.

"HEY! NO FAIR," Naruto shouted as he took off down the street and jumped on to another roof, going as fast as he could.

Kakashi eye smiled and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Not wanting to be left alone with Sakura, Sasuke took off down the street, zigzagging through the crowd of people and jumped on to another roof when he deemed Sakura too far to see him.

Sakura noticed she was alone and ran down the street, hoping that she wasn't the last one.

~o0o~

Team Seven was gathered in the Hokage's office, Naruto and Kagome with big grins, Sasuke with a smirk, Sakura looked winded and had a frown on her face, she was the last one to arrive, and Kakashi looked like his usual self, but without his book.

The Hokage noticed this; he also noticed that all of them were dripping with paint. In. His. CLEAN. Office. Sarutobi discreetly took a deep breath to calm down. So what if they made a mess in his office, the chuunin would clean it up later.

"Team Seven has successfully completed the D-rank mission," Kakashi said in a calm tone.

"I would have been surprised if you hadn't," Sarutobi said, pointedly looking at the four genin and Kakashi.

Naruto, Kagome, and Sakura looked a little sheepish whereas Sasuke's face was stoic. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, "Maa…"

"Nevertheless, you have completed the mission, I'm sure Kurosaki-san will be pleased by your hard work," Sarutobi said, "Although, you are finished a bit early, Kurosaki-san has not showed up to pay the payment yet, we assumed you would take, at least, two hours."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at Team Seven who had gotten the work down in less than an hour.

"Naruto and Kagome created shadow clones to help get the work done faster," Kakashi said. They had actually done the work faster in hopes of still getting paid by getting done before the allotted time so they wouldn't get in too much trouble after they discovered what they did. However, there was no way Kakashi was going to mention that little tidbit to the Hokage.

"Very well, here is the payment, since it was done earlier, we will simply give you the payment now from our funds and put the money that comes in from the client in the funds."

Kakashi nodded and accepted the money.

"Dismissed," Sarutobi said.

~o0o~

"So where are we going to eat lunch," Kagome asked.

"Do you really have to ask," Sasuke grunted as he nodded in Naruto's direction. Kagome and Kakashi looked over at him, he was a few feet in front of them, bouncing up and down excitedly and chattering about Ramen.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Kagome said, why would she complain, when there was Oden?

"Of course you aren't," Sasuke muttered.

Kakashi silently agreed, well aware that as much as Naruto liked Ramen, Kagome was the same, but towards Oden. Ichiraku had actually put the Oden on the menu especially for Kagome after she became a genin.

Sakura was trailing behind them; she dreaded how light her purse would feel after lunch

~o0o~

Itachi lay on his bed in the Akatsuki base, waiting. He would be assigned a new partner today, ever since Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, after he tried to steal his body; Leader-sama felt the need to reorganize everyone.

He got up, donning his cloak, he left to go to Leader-sama's office. Making his way through the maze of hallways, he arrived at a magnificently carved door. On the outside, it seemed like a simple, but elegant, mahogany door with designs in it, however he could feel the chakra seams combined in the door, flowing through it, holding it together, protecting it from unwanted disturbances.

He pressed his Akatsuki ring into the discrete nook in the corner of the door.

"Come in."

After everyone had gathered, Leader-sama began speaking. He was sitting in a rolling chair, his face hidden in shadow with a blue-haired lady standing on his right.

"Since, Orochimaru is no longer with us and we have gained new members, I have decided that I will change the partners to ensure that each of your skills are used to the max. Sasori and Deidara. Kisame and Itachi. Hidan and Kakuzu. Tobi and Zetsu. Any objections? Keep it to yourselves," Leader-sama said. As he announced each name with their partner, he gestured to the two people who were paired together.

"You will each be assigned a new room with your partner later. Dismissed."

Itachi walked back to his room, nodding to his partner before he left. His mind was on other, more important things, like his little vixen. A smirk passed over his face in the dark of his room. She would be with him soon enough.

"My dear little Kag-chan, I won't leave you waiting much longer," the whispered promise went unheard by any other in the room.

~o0o~

A sneeze tore its way out of Kagome as she sat on the armchair in the living room, huddled in a blanket, reading her book. A shiver ran up her spine, 'Someone must be thinking of me,' Kagome thought as she pulled the blanket closer.

"You okay?" Naruto asked absently, he was sitting on the couch with slips of paper, a brush, an inkwell, and a book resting on his knee.

"I'm fine," Kagome replied. She watched him nod his head and then carefully draw a character on the paper.

Kagome watched him for a while, her eyes tracing over the characters and moving with the brush in Naruto's hands.

She remembered the day before Naruto had moved in, they were cleaning the spare room. As they were cleaning, Naruto had come across a book; it was  _An Intro to Fuuinjutsu._ When Naruto had shown it to her, she had told him that she was learning about sealing so that she could at least have a basic knowledge of it when the time came and she needed to know about them.

Naruto had looked at her curiously, and a few days later, he had started studying the book; as he read more about seals, the more he was interested in sealing.

Kagome had helped him as much as she could, but eventually he surpassed her basic knowledge of them, so she had gone to the Konoha Library and got a few advanced books on it and gave them to Naruto. No one but her, and perhaps Dog-san, knew about Naruto's interest in seals.

Naruto had eventually discovered that he had a seal on his stomach, but he didn't know what it held, so he let it go, choosing to get a more advanced knowledge on them, before trying to understand the advanced seal on his stomach. Of course, now he knew of the Kyuubi and he understood all the taunts and cruelty that the villagers had inflicted on him over the years.

He was not the monster they made him out to be, nor was he the dobe they thought him to be. It made her sad that most people had very narrow minds, that they couldn't see what they had, and that they should be glad that Naruto had a good heart and didn't want revenge, because if it was someone else, the streets of Konoha would be a river of red, running with blood as everyone was slaughtered.

A thought came to her then, if Naruto were to seek revenge on those who treated him so horribly, she didn't think she would stop him. Human kind always feared what they did not understand.

She shook her head to get rid of her morbid thoughts.

"Naru, I'm going to bed, kay?"

"Mhm."

"Don't stay up too late, we have another mission tomorrow," Kagome warned him.

Naruto nodded, Kagome smiled and as she walked by, she ruffled his hair, making him scowl at her and then go back to working on his seal.

~o0o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Naruto or Inuyasha; I simply own the plot. I make no money off of being here or writing stories. I do this for my pleasure and my pleasure alone. I also do not own the idea of failing D-rank missions, as far as I know, that idea belongs to Sarah1281 on FFN.


	12. Escort Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter will have some actual slash in it that isn't accidental, though it's not too much, just about 3 lines. But just a reminder, these are 12-13 year old pre/teens, their hormones will be starting about now, if not earlier.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

A thought came to her then, if Naruto were to seek revenge on those who treated him so horribly, she didn't think she would stop him. Human kind always feared what they did not understand.

She shook her head to get rid of her morbid thoughts.

"Naru, I'm going to bed, kay?"

"Mhm."

"Don't stay up too late, we have another mission tomorrow," Kagome warned him.

Naruto nodded, Kagome smiled and as she walked by, she ruffled his hair, making him scowl at her and then go back to working on his seal.

* * *

**Now:**

The Hokage was not pleased with the team in front of him. It had been about a week since the team's first D-rank mission, since then, the team had taken on several different d-ranks and had done their worst on the missions. As if reading his mind, the short brat with the long raven hair in the middle smiled innocently. The Hokage's eyes narrowed, but not enough to be noticed, except by the most skilled ninja, which meant that only Kakashi noticed.

"You all have done horribly," he said, sweeping a disappointed eye across the group, "on all the missions that have been assigned to you. You have not failed at the missions but you have done a terrible enough job to get banned from those particular missions. What do you have to say for yourselves," he demanded.

"Do you know how  **hard**  it is to fail but still pass at some of those missions?" Kagome asked.

"It takes talent," Naruto said, you could  **see**  the smugness radiating off of him.

"But there are no more d-ranks left that you have not been banned from," the Hokage said. 'Oh how'd I love to take a vacation away from my duties, curse you Minato for doing this to me,' he thought.

"Then I guess we can have a C-rank mission!" Kagome said her eyes sparkling at the thought of leaving the village.

Seeing that the genin were a lost cause, the Hokage turned to Kakashi, "Shouldn't you be trying to make them behave?"

Kakashi eye smiled and spoke up, "I don't know, it is pretty amusing watching them plot ways to get banned from the missions while still completing them. However, they do need to learn what it truly means to be a shinobi, so why not give them a C-rank mission? I will be there the whole way and this way they can see that failing missions is not an option. They can finally grasp the seriousness of their chosen career paths."

"Kakashi, as their sensei, you have the right to ask for a C-rank, but I do not approve of this method, however I suppose I can give your team an escort mission."

Just as the words left the Hokage's mouth, Naruto was bouncing up and down, "Really! Thanks Jii-chan! Who are we escorting? A princess? A queen-"

"Calm down, Naruto. Team Seven will be escorting a bridge builder to the land of waves. Bring him in," the Hokage said in to a chakra seal while pouring some of his chakra in to it.

A drunken old man staggered in to the room holding a bottle of sake.

"Team Seven will be escorting you," the Hokage said, addressing the old man.

"What! These snotty kids! They look like they just got out of school! Especially the short one with the stupid face and what's with the pink haired girl?" Tazuna asked, inside he was worried, 'I thought they would give me a team of Chuunin, these are just kids.'

Naruto and Sakura glared at the man, Naruto knew that he was the shortest of the four and he hated it when people he didn't even know made jabs at his height.

Sakura fumed and made to lunge at the man. One second she was going for his throat the next she was falling to the floor.

_Thud_

"Some people are so clumsy," Kagome said innocently as she inconspicuously repositioned her foot, but not before Kakashi and the Hokage noticed, "Ne, Sakura-chan, you should be more careful. Ninja who are clumsy get killed quicker."

Kagome finished her statement by dragging her finger across her throat and sticking her tongue out.

" _ **Cha! Who does she think she is! How DARE she trip me! That BITCH!"**_ Inner Sakura screamed. Sakura got up and dusted herself off; a blush covered her face. She walked back to her spot in as much dignity as she could muster.

"Kagome," Kakashi said in a warning tone, "Tazuna-san, I assure you that I am more than qualified for a C-rank. I am a jounin and I will be there all the way. You have no need to worry, we can protect you from any run-of-the-mill-bandit that you may come across."

The Hokage watched the proceedings silently, after Kakashi had said his piece, the Hokage cleared his throat, "You are all dismissed."

"Team, I expect you to be at the village gates at 6:00 am sharp," Kakashi said before leaving in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

~Night~

A moan escaped his lips as he turned on his back. His raven black hair was tousled, it stood out against the stark white of his pillow. The moon shone through the window, making his pale skin glow. Sweat gathered on his face as he let loose another moan.

|Dream|

"Sasuke, oh!"

"You feel so good," Sasuke moaned, "I'm going to cum! Oh…"

|Dream End|

"Naruto!"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. His chest heaved, his breath coming out in pants. He ran a hand through his damp hair, making it messier that it was. He looked down at his legs, or rather the thing that was poking out from between them.

He groaned, ever since that damn kiss he had been having thoughts of a certain blonde dobe. It would be another shower and his hands again.

* * *

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! YOU GET YOUR ORANGE-CLAD ASS OUT HERE NOW!"

Kagome was furious, she was boiling mad, she was so mad that steam was coming out of her ears…

Nah, she was just trying to get Naruto to come out of his room so they could leave.

Naruto's eyes widened, he hadn't done anything, well, not that he could think of. He slowly walked his orange-clad ass in to the kitchen, where he found a…

…Smiling Kagome with a bowl of cereal in her hands.

Naruto swore; he had fallen for it again. Every time Kagz wanted him to get going she acted like she was mad, sometimes she was, but other times she wasn't.

"You- I- I can't believe I fell for it again," Naruto said, with a sigh he grabbed the bowl and munched on his cereal.

Kagome smirked, she always loved using that trick, it was fun and it always scared the shit out of him.

After Naruto ate his breakfast the duo was ready to leave.

They arrived at the gates at 8:30 am. Just as they got there, Sasuke arrived. Sakura, as usual, was already at the gates along with Tazuna at 6:00 am.

"Where were you?" Tazuna demanded.

"Our Sensei usually arrives about 3 hours late, some learn, others don't," Naruto said, inside he was thinking, 'Haha! Pay back! That will teach you to call me short!' Naruto conveniently forgot about the stupid face comment.

Kagome rolled her eyes. She knew this was Naruto's way of paying the old man back for his comment yesterday.

They waited for half an hour before Kakashi arrived in a swirl of leaves.

"Yo! Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path," Kakashi said, inside he thought, 'I bet she can't come up with a response for this!'

Poor Kakashi, he should've known Kagome would have a response for everything.

"Exactly how many black cats crossed your path? Plus, you arrived in a swirl of leaves, which means you were going faster than any cat," Kagome said.

Everyone looked at Kakashi for his response.

"Let's get going shall we."

With that, they were off.

* * *

After walking for a while, Naruto spotted a puddle, "Hey Kagz! There's a puddle, let's go jump in it!"

' _It hasn't rained in a while.'_ Naruto signed.

"Ok!"

' _Think there could be a genjutsu on it?'_ Kagome signed back.

Kakashi walked closer and saw the hand signs.

They both ran to the puddle and splashed in it. They felt a push on the bottom of their feet before they were thrown into the trees near the puddle.

"WOAH!" Kagome caught a branch and swung her legs around it to catch Naruto's legs.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea," Naruto said.

Kagome's legs were holding on to the branch and her hands were holding on to Naruto's legs, so they were both upside down.

"You know, it's a good thing that your hair isn't long, oh wait, it is," Naruto said, trying to keep Kagome's hair out of his mouth.

"Just remember that I can drop you on your head, Naru," Kagome said sweetly.

Naruto gulped, it was a long way down after all.

"Hey, Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got an idea," Kagome said. She started to swing Naruto to and fro. Naruto got the hint and each time he came close to the branch, he tried grabbing it.

After the 3rd try, Naruto grabbed hold of the branch and pulled himself up. Kagome swung up after him.

"Well," Naruto grinned, "It's like they say, third times the charm."

Kagome laughed.

They hurried back to the road where the two ninja, their team and escort happened to be.

"Kagome, Naruto, are you both ok?" Kakashi asked.

"We're fine," Kagome commented with Naruto right beside her.

"So, what's the deal?" Naruto asked.

"These are chuunin from the village hidden in the mist. They are trained to fight to the death. These two in particular are very dangerous, they are the Demon Brothers," Kakashi said.

"If they are so dangerous, then why did you let these two kids fight?" Tazuna asked.

"I wanted to see who they were attacking, if it was ninja against ninja or if they were after you," Kakashi said, "and as it happens to be, they were after you, Tazuna-san. Explain."

Tazuna gave a sigh, "You see, Waves has a tyrant by the name of Gato, he controls the import and export in Waves and is slowly crushing the life out of Waves. If this bridge is built than Gato will be out of business. I listed this as a C-rank instead of a B or an A-rank because we don't have the money. We barely had enough for a C-rank."

"Well, Tazuna-san, I'm afraid this is out of our hands. My team is comprised of genin and we simply are not equipped to fight a threat this big," Kakashi said.

"My beautiful daughter will mourn and curse Konoha ninja because her father is dead," Tazuna tried.

"If your daughter is anything like Sakura, we pass," Kagome deadpanned.

"HEY!" Sakura shouted indignantly.

Tazuna tried again, "And my cute little grandson will forever seek revenge on Konoha ninja for his grandfa-"

Tazuna didn't even get to finish his sentence before Naruto and Kagome shouted, "We'll do it!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"If it means saving another from the clutches of vengeance, we're happy to help," Kagome said.

"Yeah, we're still working on Sasuke, but I think we're getting through to him," Naruto said.

Sasuke scowled at the two, they had made it their life's mission to make sure he was happy and not going after  _that man_.

Kakashi smiled, though you couldn't tell because of the mask, "Sasuke?"

"If this means we'll have stronger opponents, then I'm all for it," Sasuke said, getting a gleam in his eye.

"Sakura?"

" _ **Cha! If Sasuke-kun goes, I go!"**_

"I think we should go," Sakura said.

"Well then, everyone agrees, let's move team," Kakashi said.

* * *

~Omake~

They both ran to the puddle and splashed in it. They felt a push on the bottom of their feet before they were thrown into the trees near the puddle.

"WOAH!" Kagome caught a branch and swung her legs around it to catch Naruto's legs.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea," Naruto said.

Kagome's legs were holding on to the branch and her hands were holding on to Naruto's legs, so they were both upside down.

"You think," Kagome said sarcastically.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Kagome and Naruto shouted at the top of their lungs. The birds in the trees nearby took flight at the sound.

~o0o~

Kakashi cringed as the sound reached his ears, 'Kami they can scream!'

He was torn, should he go help Sasuke or should he get Kagome and Naruto? He was sure Kagome and Naruto were fine. Sasuke was against the Demon Brothers and Sakura was useless, he would take care of the brothers and then help Kagome and Naruto.

Or he could send a Kage bunshin…

The Kage bunshin went in Sasuke and Sakura's direction while he went to help his two mischievous students.

~o0o~

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Kagome screamed, "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

"Oh no," Kagome said.

"What! Why'd you say 'oh no'," Naruto asked worriedly.

"There's a snake on the next branch," Kagome said, "And it's coming this way!"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Well… scare it away!"

"How the hell am I supposed to scare a snake away!?"

Naruto switched tactics, "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

Just then Kakashi arrived in a whirl of leaves.

"You called?"

Naruto and Kagome sighed in relief.

"Kakashi-sensei! Get us down," Kagome said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, he was going to enjoy this, it was going to be payback for ruining his amazing excuses and he was sure that his bunshin could handle the Demon Brothers.

"What's the magic word?" Kakashi asked.

Kagome's mouth gaped open; she shut her mouth and said in the sweetest voice she could make, "Please?"

"Hmm, I don't know…" Kakashi trailed off.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI STOP FOOLING AROUND AND GET US DOWN! THERE IS A POISONOUS SANKE ON THE BRANCH!" Naruto screamed.

"Alright, alright, sheesh, on one condition, Kagome never ruins my amazing excuses again," Kakashi said looking at Kagome.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "Sensei."

Kakashi looked at her, "Yes?"

"Catch." After that warning Kagome let go of Naruto, knowing that Kakashi would have to answer to the Hokage if either of them were hurt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto screamed as he was free falling through the air.

Kakashi's eye widened, he was not expecting that!

Kakashi flickered over to Naruto and caught him just in time.

Kakashi was about to berate Kagome when he saw her legs give away and she was falling to the forest floor.

"WOOOHOO!" Kagome yelled as she fell. Seconds later she was in Kakashi's strong, muscular arms.

Kakashi had never felt his heart beat so wildly until he saw the two brats falling.

"Kagome! What were you thinking?" Kakashi asked.

"Well my legs were about to give away and you were taking a little long with your conditions so I dropped Naru and when I saw you had caught him I dropped too," Kagome said casually.

Kakashi's face took on a thunderous expression.

Kagome eeped and tried to get away but his hold was two strong…

~o0o~

Kakashi arrived on the road with a pouting Kagome under one arm and a sulking Naruto under the other.

* * *


	13. Sarcasm, Fighting, & Fainting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and/or Naruto in any way, shape, or form. They each belong to their respective owners and I simply own the plot. I make no profit by writing this story. I also do not own the description for Zabuza or the jutsus mentioned; I got those from Narutopedia.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"If it means saving another from the clutches of vengeance, we're happy to help," Kagome said.

"Yeah, we're still working on Sasuke, but I think we're getting through to him," Naruto said.

Sasuke scowled at the two, they had made it their life's mission to make sure he was happy and not going after  _that man_.

Kakashi smiled, though you couldn't tell because of the mask, "Sasuke?"

"If this means we'll have stronger opponents, then I'm all for it," Sasuke said, getting a gleam in his eye.

"Sakura?"

" _ **Cha! If Sasuke-kun goes, I go!"**_

"I think we should go," Sakura said.

"Well then, everyone agrees, let's move team," Kakashi said.

* * *

**Now:**

"I wish something would happen!" Naruto whined.

They had been walking for a while now with no disturbances and Naruto was getting extremely bored since he didn't even get to fight the first time they had been attacked (AN: I'm skipping the part where they traveled in the boat).

"Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true," Kagome warned, then she muttered, "Although, I wish this one  _would_  come true, this waiting is getting on my nerves."

Naruto snorted. A sound caught his ears and he threw a kunai in the direction of a bush.

Everyone jumped, a few seconds passed in silence as Sakura went to see what it was, and then she started screaming … in irritation as she saw a terrified white rabbit.

"There was something there!" Naruto insisted as Sakura removed the terrified white rabbit from the kunai.

"NARUTO! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" Sakura screeched.

Kakashi looked around, 'that rabbit is white… in the summer, rabbits are supposed to be brown. This one was raised indoors, most likely for a substitution jutsu.'

"DUCK!" Kakashi shouted as he pulled Tazuna down with him.

"White! Rabbits are supposed to be…" Kagome trailed off and Naruto caught on, as they both hit the ground along with Sasuke and Sakura.

No sooner had they done that, a sword flew over them and lodged into a tree. On the sword appeared a ninja; he was a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He had on a sheath for his massive sword on his back; he wore light blue pants, and white arm guards with brown spots on it.

Before Zabuza could speak, Kagome grimaced and muttered, "Eww! I'm too young to see a naked man!"

Naruto leaned over and whispered, "He's wearing pants, so technically he's only half-naked."

Kakashi's lips twitched as he heard their comments, before he turned serious.

"Well, well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, a missing nin from the village hidden in the Mist," Kakashi said.

Naruto's eyes widened, suddenly, he was glad that Kagome had insisted on going through the Bingo Book. Then again, it wasn't much help considering how, even if he did know how dangerous Zabuza was, he was still itching for a fight.

"Kakashi of the village hidden in the leaves, or better known as Sharingan Kakashi, no wonder the Demon Brothers didn't stand a chance," Zabuza said, "Just give me the old man and we can go our separate ways."

"Of course! Would you like him in a box with a bow on it?" Kagome asked in a sweet childish voice, her words oozing sarcasm.

"You girl, have a smart mouth. One day it might just get you into trouble," Zabuza said his eyes narrowing.

"Bring it on, bandage face!" Kagome said. She knew she was going to regret this but damn it, she wanted to fight. She could see that Naruto wanted this just as badly as she did. All that waiting had made her anxious and now that it was finally here, she didn't want to stand back and watch. She wondered when she had gotten so eager for a fight…

"Kagome!" Kakashi warned. He turned to the others, "Four Point Direction Formation! Your orders are to protect the bridge builder and to stay  **out**  of the fight! Do  **not**  engage the enemy!" Kakashi barked, he added the last part more for Kagome and Naruto, then for Sasuke and Sakura. Though he could see that Sasuke wanted to fight, but he wasn't showing too much eagerness, yet (AN: I know the formation is called Manji, but that is for three people, so I made up my own).

The four genin surrounded Tazuna, Kagome was facing south, Naruto was facing east, Sasuke was facing west and Sakura was facing north, away from the battle and towards the forest. They each stood in a defensive stance, a Kunai held in their hands.

Kakashi pulled up his headband to reveal his Sharingan.

"Enough talking! I need to eliminate the old man and it looks like I have to eliminate you first," Zabuza growled. He jumped from the tree, pulling his sword with him and on to the water.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu: Hidden Mist Technique!"

"He disappeared!" Sakura exclaimed in shock, "Sensei!"

"He'll come after me first, but don't drop your guards. He is a master of the silent killing technique. The sharingan cannot fully neutralize it," Kakashi explained then added casually, "Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives."

Kagome chuckled humorlessly.

"How can you say that!?" Sakura exclaimed.

"He's a ninja," Kagome deadpanned.

The air thickened and a wave of killing intent swept over them.

"8 points," A voice came from around them, "Larynx… spine… lungs… liver… jugular… subclavian artery… kidney… heart. So many to choose from; which one, which one…"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and formed a hand sign, he let his own killing intent loose.

Naruto sucked in a breath as he felt the two killing intents clashing, he didn't feel it overwhelming him, though. He wondered why… maybe it was a good thing. Probably because of the fur ball in his stomach…

" **I am not a fur ball, I am the great Kurama-sama!"**

Naruto's eyes widened, 'Whoa! A-are you talking to me?"

" **No, I'm talking to the other person I'm sharing a body with, now pay attention to what's happening before you get us killed!"**

Naruto was about to protest in his mind, but when he replied, there was no answer, so he turned back to the fight, mentally complaining about over grown fur balls with egos the size of Fire Country.

Sakura felt her spine tingling as the killing intent grew more powerful, but her senses weren't as sharp as the others so she didn't feel the full effects of it.

Sasuke tensed, his eyes glazing over, as sweat gathered on his brow; his lungs constricted painfully inside his chest, making every breath hurt. He felt time slow down, every microsecond was excruciating pain, he couldn't take this much longer, he would go insane. He needed to end this. He raised his kunai, ready to stab himself, but Kakashi's voice stopped him, his eyes cleared.

"Sasuke! Calm down, I won't let anything happen to my comrades," Kakashi said, he turned to Sasuke, "Trust me."

Kagome tensed, she put her kunai between her teeth and her hands in a prayer position, she then turned her hands outward, and opened them, a pink and blue half-sphere shaped barrier appeared around and over them and disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared.

'There, that should purify the killing intent around us a bit,' Kagome thought as she repositioned the kunai in her hand.

Kagome tensed as she felt Zabuza appear behind her.

"It's over," Zabuza swung his sword, they all jumped out of the way as Kakashi blocked the sword with a kunai. He plunged another kunai into Zabuza's stomach and instead of blood, there was water pouring out from the wound.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto shouted as another Zabuza appeared. He sliced his sword through Kakashi's middle.

Kakashi broke in half and turned into water. The real Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza, holding a kunai to his throat.

"Don't move. Now, it's over," Kakashi said.

Zabuza only smirked, "You think so? This has just begun. You're good, making that water clone talk as if it was you; you drew my attention to it, while you used the mist to hide and observe my movements."

Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, "You forgot one important detail though, you can't defeat me that easily."

Kakashi swung his kunai, destroying the clone; the real Zabuza swung his sword down, to skewer Kakashi in half (AN: This is where it gets different from the original fight).

Kakashi squatted down to dodge the blade and Zabuza quickly aimed and kicked him, however, Kakashi caught the kick and swiftly turned, throwing Zabuza into the tree.

Zabuza flipped and his feet connected to the tree and he pushed off. Kakashi once again dodged Zabuza's attack and Zabuza went passed him, sliding on to the water. His chakra-covered hands griped the water to slow down his momentum and come to a stop.

Another Zabuza clone appeared behind Kakashi and swung his sword, Kakashi jumped up and dodged the sword, but the clone, anticipating the movement, brought his sword up. Kakashi landed on the side of the sword and quickly jumped off, and landed in the water.

The real Zabuza appeared behind him, standing over him he called out, "Suirō no Jutsu: Water Prison Technique!"

'Shit!' was the only word running through Kakashi's mind.

* * *

"Oh no! Kakashi Sensei's been caught," Sakura said, her voice getting higher with every word.

"Way to state the obvious," Kagome replied. They needed a plan, and quick.

"This prison may be made of water, but it is stronger than steel," Zabuza said. His clone stood between them and the real Zabuza, whose arm was inside the water prison.

"So much for the great Kakashi, I'll finish you off later, but first, I'll deal with the annoying gakis," the real Zabuza said, "You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja, huh? When you've struggled between life and death, when your hands have been soaked in blood so many times that it doesn't faze you anymore, that is when you can be called ninja."

The clone Zabuza disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto and went to kick Naruto, but Naruto dodged, but just barely, his headband came off in the process and Zabuza stepped on it.

Kakashi looked up then, "LISTEN! Get the bridge builder and run! You can't win against him; he's too strong! Once you get enough of a distance away, his clone won't be able to reach you! There is only so far the clone can go! RUN!" he yelled, he wondered if they would listen, but then again, deep down he knew that they never did. He could counteract the prison with one of his lightning techniques easily, shocking Zabuza to let go of him, but he wanted to wait and see what his kids would do.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, they couldn't run, Zabuza would hunt them down in an instant. He attacked and was easily pushed down.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and charged at the clone. He grabbed his headband before he got thrown back.

"Teme! I've got a plan, you hear?" Naruto said as he stood up and tied his headband around his forehead.

"Now you're thinking about teamwork, dobe?" Sasuke smirked.

Kakashi yelled, "You lost any hope of winning when I got caught! Your mission is to protect Tazuna! Not show how brave you are! Now GO!"

Naruto looked to Tazuna, "Tazuna-san?"

Tazuna looked at Naruto in a new light, he thought that he was all talk, but… "Go ahead, save your Sensei."

Kagome shook her head, "See, and Tazuna-san will be protected."

She dropped her pack to the ground. She pushed her chakra infused with her miko energy in to the bracelet she was wearing and a long black sheath came out. It had blue flower petals around the hilt and a silver Inu howling at the moon in the center of the sheath.

She took out the sword and after she pumped a little extra chakra in it, she threw the sheath to Naruto, knowing that he would know what to do with it.

Naruto caught the sheath and stuck it into the ground in front of Sakura and Tazuna, "Don't try to take this out. No, don't even touch it," Naruto warned Sakura and Tazuna. A light blue see through barrier went up around the two then disappeared.

The blade of the sword was half the width of Tetsiaga's, one side was ebony black and the other was shining silver. It glinted in the sunlight as Kagome held it out.

"I'll keep the clone busy, while you and Sasuke figure out a plan," Kagome said as she slid into an old sword stance that Sesshoumaru had shown her.

Zabuza's clone smirked, "Still playing ninja, I see. When I was your age, my hands were already covered in blood."

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome waved him off, "You killed off the whole graduating class, called the Demon of the Mist, blah, blah, blah. I know."

"Well, since you already know, then why don't we get to it?" Zabuza asked, he disappeared and swung his sword down on Kagome.

"My thoughts exactly," Kagome said as she blocked. They were locked in a battle of swords, each of them parried, blocked, and swung, they moved in a graceful dance of sorts. Kagome had a few scratches from Zabuza's sword, but it wasn't too serious.

The real Zabuza noticed the other gakis and made another clone to go after them. He couldn't let the others get away now could he?

The clone attacked Sasuke, he punched him in the gut, sending him flying back, then stepped on his chest.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Naruto made hand signs and many shadow clones appeared around him. They all charged and freed Sasuke, but in the process they all dispersed.

Naruto threw a windmill shuriken at Sasuke, as he caught it, his eyes widened as he realized what Naruto was planning, 'Not bad Dobe,' Sasuke thought.

He spun around, adding extra momentum to his throw as he let the shuriken go, "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu: Shadow Shuriken Technique!"

The shuriken flew toward the real Zabuza, "Not good enough," Zabuza said as he leaned forward and caught the shuriken with his other hand.

He looked up to see another shuriken heading towards him and smirked, "Another shuriken in the shadow of the first?"

Zabuza simply jumped over the shuriken, just then the shuriken made a poof noise and Naruto's henge fell away. He quickly threw a kunai at a wide-eyed Zabuza; he had to let go to keep from getting injured. He jumped away, releasing Kakashi from his prison.

Just then Kagome had the two clones lined up, she jumped back, her breaths came out in short pants, she raised her sword and made a downward strike, "*Kokurai!"

A black jagged light with an electric blue outline came from the sword and destroyed the two clones in one swoop, making water splash everywhere.

Kakashi mentally complimented Naruto for his quick thinking. His gaze turned to look at Kagome as she walked over to a tree and sticking the sword in the ground, he saw her sit down against a tree and catch her breath as well as regain some of her strength.

Zabuza was mad, "I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

He aimed the shuriken at Naruto's body that was falling into the water, but before he could throw it, Kakashi blocked it.

Kakashi looked at Zabuza with a look that said he wouldn't let him leave this area alive. His hair dripped onto his face, his clothes soaked with water and his mismatched eyes stroked fear into Zabuza (AN: Kakashi fangirls scream!).

"Excellent plan, Naruto," Kakashi said.

Naruto grinned and explained what happened; "I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clones, that was just a distraction that I used so that I could turn myself into the shuriken. I used my clone to pass Sasuke the shuriken, as soon as Sasuke caught it; he immediately knew that it was me. He spun around so that no one could see and he pulled out his own shuriken. I hid in the shadow of the first Shuriken! I knew that I couldn't defeat Zabuza on my own, my goal was to free you!"

Kagome laughed, "Awesome thinking Naru!" She beckoned Naruto out of the water, and Naruto grinned, swimming over to her.

"Don't brag, it was just a fluke," Sasuke said, although he was smirking.

'Call it a fluke or not, their teamwork was flawless,' Kagome thought and smiled, they were going to get along just fine. At first she had been worried about their team since Sasuke and Naruto didn't like each other, but now… though there was still Sakura to worry about… Ugh.

"I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison," Zabuza said as Naruto got out of the water and went to sit down by Kagome, his wet hair falling into his face.

"Don't flatter yourself, you weren't distracted, you were forced to let go," Kakashi said, "Your technique worked on me once, but it won't work again!"

Zabuza closed the shuriken, putting more pressure on Kakashi's fist; Kakashi tightened his fist and threw it back, sending the shuriken flying. They both jumped back and started making hand signs rapidly.

They both ended the hand sign sequence at the same time, shouting, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Two water dragons formed and the jutsus canceled the other out, and they started making new hand signs. Kagome narrowed her eyes, even if the two jutsus canceled each other out, if you looked closer, Kakashi's was more powerful, but then, for some reason he pulled it back, making it seem like they canceled. She shook her hands, she must be imagining things.

"He's not just following! He's doing them at the exact same time!" Tazuna exclaimed in shock.

"How's he doing that?" Sakura asked in awe as they all watched the battle between the two jounin.

'My movements, it's as if he knows-,' Zabuza thought.

"What I'm going to do next," Kakashi finished for him.

'What! Is he reading my mind as well? He looks at me with that eye-'

"It makes you furious, doesn't it?"

"Hah! All you're doing is copying me, like a monkey!" Zabuza said.

"You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!" They both said at the same time.

"When I'm finished with you, you'll never open that monkey mouth again!" Zabuza snarled as he launched into another set of signs.

Zabuza saw a shape appear behind Kakashi that he recognized as…his?

While Zabuza was distracted, Kakashi called out, "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

'What!?'

Zabuza was washed away, his back hitting a tree that was next to the one Kagome and Naruto were resting at. Kakashi threw four kunai at Zabuza, pinning him to the tree.

Just as Kakashi was about to finish him off, a senbon came and struck Zabuza in the neck.

"Thank you for making Zabuza weak enough for me to catch him, I have been trailing him for quite some time," The unknown ninja spoke.

Kakashi nodded, he walked over to Zabuza and checked his pulse, "He's dead," he announced. He noticed the gobsmacked expressions and mentally chuckled.

No one said anything, not trusting the foreign ninja; they decided to wait to talk to their Sensei later. Kakashi nodded to the hunter-nin and stepped away.

'It's extremely hard to kill with senbon. The kids seem exhausted, the nin only wants to stop the fight, I'll let them go and figure out a plan in the meantime,' Kakashi thought as he watched the nin collect Zabuza's body from the tree and leaped away.

"Alright, let's head to Tazuna-san's home," Kakashi said, 'Time to faint!' he thought cheerfully as he let his body fall to the ground.

Kagome was the first to react as she caught him before he could hit the ground.

* * *

Emerald: Ok, I'm ending it here; you guys can wait for the next chapter to hear my super awesome idea. Omake time!

* * *

~Omake~

Fangirlaphobia - An extreme fear of fangirls.

Sakuphobia – An extreme fear of Sakura Haruno.

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw her precious Sasuke-kun get stepped on by that horrible clone that Zabuza made. Her heartbeat wildly, thumping hard in her chest, her eyes narrowed as previous green turned into a blood red. Inner Sakura, was now out…

The Zabuza clone froze as he looked at the pink-haired thing.

" _ **How DARE you STEP on MY Sasuke-kun! I'm going to chop off your foot, then use it to stomp on your balls, then I'm going to rip off your dick and shove it down your throat, after that, I'm going to knock out your teeth and then use them to cut off your balls, slowly! I'm going to shove your balls so far up your ass, they're going to be in your stomach! I-"**_

Clone Zabuza's eyes widened more and more with each word that came out of her mouth. Sasuke, Naruto, and even Kakashi, looked a bit green. Kagome was mentally laughing at the scene, and she was also amazed at the creativeness of Sakura's threats.

Sakura ran forward and cut off the clone's legs and then went after the real Zabuza.

Needless to say, Zabuza… was no more.

* * *

Sasuke trembled, his eyes wide at the pink-haired thing that was now cooing over him. His pale face, even paler as sweat gathered on his brow. He was curled up in a fetal position, unable to do anything more than glance to the side.

Kagome and Naruto watched in concern as Kakashi checked over Sasuke.

"Sakura, could you please go with Tsunami-san to get the ingredients for dinner? I'm sure Sasuke would like it if you cooked for him," Kakashi said in a deceivingly calm voice, inside he was scared shitless!

Sakura smiled and left.

"It's okay, Sasuke, she's gone," Kakashi said gently.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, Sasuke has developed a phobia, more specifically, a fear of Sakura Haruno," Kakashi said. Sasuke whimpered.

"You mean Sakuphobia?" Kagome asked.

At Kakashi's surprised look, Kagome elaborated, "Sakura tends to scare a lot of people with her, ah protectiveness, over Sasuke. Apparently, there are enough people that are scared out of their wits when they see her that she has her own phobia."

"I can't believe that I wanted to date her," Naruto said shaking his head.

"Yes, well, combined with Sakuphobia, he also has Fangirlaphobia, an extreme fear of fangirls, though it isn't as sever as his Sakuphobia," Kakashi explained.

Naruto felt bad for Sasuke, with a nudge from Kagome and a whisper in his ear to go and comfort him, he went over and gave Sasuke a hug, "It's okay, she won't be able to get to you anymore. I'll protect you!"

Kakashi and Kagome left the two together at a look from Sasuke. They smirked as they closed the door, Mission Accomplished.

"Sakuphobia? Fangirlaphobia? Really?" Kakashi asked, turning to Kagome.

She shrugged, "I didn't see you with any other ideas."

* * *

Sasuke got a glint in his eye as he hugged Naruto back and then swiftly pulled his surprised form on to the bed, rolling over so that he was on top of Naruto.

Smirk in place, Sasuke placed a kiss on Naruto's lips, "Is that a promise?"

Naruto's features turned into shock, "W-Wha?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kokurai: it means black lightning.
> 
> Emerald: I'll leave the rest of the omake to your imagination.


	14. Plans, Arguments, & Training

**Last Time:**

Just as Kakashi was about to finish him off, a senbon came and struck Zabuza in the neck.

"Thank you for making Zabuza weak enough for me to catch him, I have been trailing him for quite some time," The unknown ninja spoke.

Kakashi nodded, he walked over to Zabuza and checked his pulse, "He's dead," he announced. He noticed the gobsmacked expressions and mentally chuckled.

No one said anything, not trusting the foreign ninja; they decided to wait to talk to their Sensei later. Kakashi nodded to the hunter-nin and stepped away.

'It's extremely hard to kill with senbon. The kids seem exhausted, the nin only wants to stop the fight, I'll let them go and figure out a plan in the meantime,' Kakashi thought as he watched the nin collect Zabuza's body from the tree and leaped away.

"Alright, let's head to Tazuna-san's home," Kakashi said, 'Time to faint!' he thought cheerfully as he let his body fall to the ground.

Kagome was the first to react as she caught him before he could hit the ground.

**Now:**

Kagome gently laid Kakashi-sensei on the futon provided to them by Tazuna-san and his family with the help of Naruto and Sasuke while Sakura went off to help Tsunami-san prepare dinner.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Tazuna-san," Kagome said politely once they were all out of the room except Sasuke, who chose to stay inside.

Tazuna just shook his head, "It's the least I can do. Dinner is in an hour."

Kagome and Naruto nodded before going back inside the room.

"One of us should stay here in case Sensei wakes up," Kagome commented as she sat down beside the futon where Kakashi lay.

"We could do shifts," Naruto suggested, "But one us needs to stay here while the other two go eat."

Kagome perked up, "I got it! Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

Naruto grinned and held his hand in a fist on top of his other flat hand.

"Hn. No need, I'll stay," Sasuke said, 'This way I don't have to deal with Sakura.' An unnoticeable shudder passed through Sasuke at the name of his most vicious fangirl.

Kagome and Naruto looked at him and then at each other and shrugged, not questioning the unusual generosity, they both walked out of the room.

~o0o~

Kagome smiled as she rose from the table and walked up the stairs to where Sasuke was, she opened the door quietly.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted from his position against the wall.

"I'll take over, you go eat," Kagome said, smiling softly.

"Can't you just bring my food here?"

Kagome tilted her head, "Why don't you want to go downstairs?"

"Sakura."

Comprehension dawned on Kagome and she gave him a sympathetic gaze, "Sorry, but it would be considered rude. Just go, it won't be too bad. At least Naruto's there."

Sasuke just nodded and walked out of the room, all the while thinking, 'Damn! Sakura's in the kitchen. The only good thing about this is Naruto.'

Kagome, silently, took Sasuke's place beside the bed, her sapphire eyes seeming to glow in the moonlight shining through the window, but neither of the occupants noticed.

She looked at Kakashi-sensei and tilted her head, "Could you really be Dog-san?"

Kagome gazed thoughtfully at the man who was her sensei. If he truly were Dog-san, then wouldn't he be stronger? She had seen Dog-san in battle and he would've never gotten tired like that, even with his opponent being Zabuza. Even if the hairstyle was the same, there were other qualities about Kakashi-sensei that said otherwise. Like how he was always late, he was really lazy too, and the fact that he always read those perverted books of his…

But isn't deception what a ninja is all about? Naruto was a perfect example of this! Everyone thought he was loud and obnoxious and the dead last, but that was only a front, inside he was just lonely. Anyways, Kakashi could be Dog-san, but the more time she spent with him, the less likely it became.

Kagome sighed and shook her head, trying to make her thoughts go another, less frustrating, direction.

But, her mind defied her, as she fingered the jewel beneath her top, and turned to another, even more, frustrating thought: Itachi.

It had been more than four years since that horrid night. Questions still ran through her mind. She didn't believe for a second that he did  _it_  to 'test his capacity'. Lost in her thoughts, Kagome didn't notice the glowing of the jewel around her neck that made the top of her black tank top glow.

~o0o~

"It'll be easier to guard Tazuna-san now that Zabuza is dead," Kagome said as the quartet sat in the room that held their comatose sensei.

"Yeah, but what about that ninja who took down Zabuza? He would be a problem if he could take down Zabuza with one shot." Naruto said.

"True. But remember, he took that shot  _after_  Kaka-sensei weakened him. If Zabuza had been able to fight back, I don't think he would've been so easy to take down. There's also the fact that the ninja killed Zabuza while he was pinned and his back was to him," Kagome said.

"Well, other dangerous ninja or not, at least Zabuza is out of the way," Sakura said, relieved that they had one less thing to deal with and trying to be optimistic.

"But that just means we may have another ninja to deal with," Naruto commented.

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

"Zabuza's not dead."

Four pairs of eyes shot to their sensei.

"Sensei! You shouldn't sit up, you should stay lying down." Kagome chastised.

"I'm fine, I was just exhausted because I overused the Sharingan," Kakashi explained, waving her off as he sat up, "anyways, I was saying, Zabuza is not dead."

"But we saw that ninja KILL him! YOU even checked his pulse," Sakura screeched.

"You need to be louder Sakura, I don't think Konoha heard you," Kagome said rolling her eyes, beside her Naruto snickered.

Sakura growled and glared at her two teammates before turning to Kakashi, missing the small smirk on Sasuke's face.

Kakashi sighed, "As for the ninja who took him down, he was an accomplice acting as a hunter-nin. Hunter-nins are supposed to dispose of a body where they are found. However, the hunter-nin that we came across took the body away, even if we were there, the hunter-nin should have disposed of the body at that location. There are only a few rare cases where a hunter is supposed to take the body away from the location it was found, and this was not one of them. Another thing, what weapon was used to kill Zabuza?"

"Senbon," Sakura piped up immediately.

Kakashi nodded, "Senbon are extremely hard to kill with. There is a pressure point in the neck that if pressed, or in this case pierced, can put a person in a temporary death-like state. In that state, the pulse is stopped and the body appears to be dead in all cases."

"SWEET!" Naruto said with a wild grin on his face.

Kagome rolled her eyes at Naruto's enthusiasm while Sakura grimaced.

"Hn."

"Well there is good news," Kakashi said, "Zabuza will be vulnerable for at least a week."

Kagome grinned, "Awesome! If we strike now, then the only thing in our way would be Zabuza's accomplice and then we can deal with Zabuza!"

"Not so fast," Kakashi said hurriedly, "I won't be at my full strength for at least a week."

"Well, if we four go, Sakura could be the bait to lure out the fake hunter-nin, then, Naruto, Sasuke, and I could strike Zabuza," Kagome grinned.

"HOLD ON! Kakashi-sensei could barely defeat Zabuza with his Sharingan and his accomplice took Zabuza out with one SHOT! Who says that the fake hunter-nin isn't stronger than Zabuza?" Sakura squawked.

"That's why you're the bait you could deafen him with your shrieks of pain, plus, the hunter-nin-wanna-be was back up in case something happened, because if he was stronger than Zabuza then he would have just fought us, plus Kaka-sensei was weakened by then. So if the guy didn't fight, that must mean that Zabuza is stronger," Kagome chimed happily; the maniacal grin adorning her face getting bigger the longer and more detailed the plans became in her head.

"Now, now, no one is going to go find Zabuza, I am going to train you four so you'll be stronger and if you complete the training in two days then I'll  _think_ about it," Kakashi said.

"A LITTLE LAST-MINUTE TRAINING ISN'T GOING TO HELP US!" Sakura yelled, "YOU COULD BARELY DEFEAT ZABUZA WITH YOUR SHARINGAN!"

'Man does that girl have lungs!' Kakashi thought, mentally wincing at her loud voice.

"Plus, you can barely move," Kagome pointed out, not helping the situation.

"Sakura, the only reason I was able to defeat Zabuza was with everyone's help. All of you have grown. Especially you Naruto," Kakashi eye smiled.

Naruto grinned and puffed out his chest.

Kagome snorted, "You look like a little yellow and orange bird with his chest puffed out."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted and gave Kagome a playful push, which ended in Kagome and Naruto laughing on the floor.

"Kakashi-san, you're awake," Tsunami commented as she entered the room with a tea tray.

"We heard the commotion downstairs," Tazuna explained, as he walked in behind his daughter.

"Yes, I'm doing much better. Sorry for the commotion and thank you for your hospitality," Kakashi said politely as Tsunami handed him a cup of tea.

Tsunami shook her head and smiled, "I should be thanking you, I know father can be a handful at times."

"Oh, that reminds me, Tazuna-san, Zabuza is alive," Kakashi said nonchalantly, as Tsunami sat in a kneeling position and poured tea into cups and handed them to the rest of the team.

"What? But the guy was dead! That ninja killed him," Tazuna exclaimed, shock replacing the previous calm on his face.

Kakashi nodded to his students who took over to explain things to Tazuna.

"Don't worry Tazuna-san. Everything will be okay," Kakashi assured him after the explanations finished, courtesy of Sakura.

"No it won't."

Everyone turned to see a small kid in the doorway.

"Who're you?" Naruto blurted out, Kagome elbowed him and whispered, "Don't be so rude, he's probably a family member."

Naruto elbowed her back but didn't say more.

"Inari!" Tazuna said as he held out his arms. The small boy ran over to give Tazuna a hug.

"You're home, Grandpa!"

"Inari, these are the ninja that escorted grandpa home, say hello," Tsunami chided gently.

"Why? They're all gonna die anyway," Inari said.

'He said it like we're already dead,' all the ninja in the room thought.

"How do you know that?" Kagome asked curiously, before Naruto and Sasuke's ego got the better of them, well, Sasuke would brood, but Naruto would say something offensive and they'd probably have a crying kid on their hands. She loved kids, she did, but when they started crying, it gave her a major headache and put her in a bad mood.

"Because Gato is too strong, you guys could never beat him," Inari replied in a matter of fact tone.

Surprisingly it was Sakura who spoke up, "How do you know Gato is too strong? What has he done that has you convinced that he is?"

"Because-" Inari was cut off as Sasuke spoke up, surprising everyone that the usually silent Uchiha spoke.

"Because you've seen him kill a few people, is that right?" Sasuke asked in a quiet tone, "There are hundreds of people in the world that have killed just more than a few people, and last time I checked, many of them were beaten by someone stronger."

Inari was quiet for a moment, "There are no heroes in the world, and those who think there are, or those who try to become one, are idiots."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Just because you are too  **scared**  to do anything about a problem, doesn't mean we are. You're just a little p-" Kagome jabbed an elbow in Naruto's side to keep him from cursing in front of the little kid, " **sissy!** "

"You have no idea what it's like to be all alone, you come here with that big idiotic grin on your face a-" Inari was close to tears.

"Alone? Excuse me, but how exactly are you alone?" Naruto asked, with a quiet voice that he rarely ever used, "You've got a mother, a grandfather, people who care about you, so how exactly are you **alone**?" Naruto spat out 'alone' as if it were poisonous.

Kagome narrowed her eyes; she didn't like Inari's attitude or how he talked about being alone, from her point of view, he didn't know the meaning of loneliness. From what she saw, he had it pretty good compared to the people in the room, especially when those people were Kaka-sensei, Sasuke, and Naruto.

Kagome tuned back in when Inari's tears ran down his face and he ran out of the room.

"Naruto! You shouldn't have done that! He's just a kid!" Sakura admonished, she made to punch him in the face, but was stopped by Sasuke, much to the ninjas' surprise.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura questioned.

"Even if he is a little kid, he should not have said what he did, the kid was in the wrong, not the Dobe," Sasuke said, releasing Sakura's hand.

Naruto was too shocked to even be offended at the 'Dobe'. Kagome raised a mental eyebrow and Kakashi's eye slightly widened.

Tsunami stood up and bowed in apology, "Uchiha-san is correct, please forgive my son. He was wrong to say those things."

Kakashi shook his head, "There is no need to apologize Tsunami-san, he is young and my students were also in the wrong in how they responded to the situation. They should have just let it be," Kakashi finished with a glare towards the four sitting on the floor; they shifted beneath the weight of his gaze.

~o0o~

After Kakashi had been given a pair of crutches to walk with, the team headed out to search for a clearing in the forest where they could train.

Kagome had a thoughtful look on her face the whole way to the clearing, occasionally glancing at Sasuke and then at Naruto.

Inner Sakura was raging inside, furious that Naruto had made her Sasuke-kun mad at her. It didn't matter that she brought it upon herself. It was all Naruto's fault.

Walking ahead of Sakura, her obsession was berating himself, 'Why did I do that? It's not the first time Naruto was going to be hit by Sakura. Why'd I step in?'

"We're here!" Kakashi announced, stopping in a clearing he deemed big enough.

"So what are we going to learn, Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked, somewhere along the way the nickname had rubbed off on him.

"Tree-climbing!" Kakashi said cheerfully, basking in their confusion and rage of not learning anything cool.

Kakashi held up a hand to silence his protesting students, "You're all wasting energy the way you are fighting now. When you all use chakra, you are using too much, overpowering your jutsus."

"So we're going to climb…trees?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"Hey, Kags," Naruto said, gaining Kagome's attention, "Didn't we come across this in one of the scrolls?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows, "I…think so, but we didn't do it because it seemed useless," Kagome said.

"It isn't useless, this helps you control your chakra so that you can fight longer," Kakashi said.

"That would be helpful for people like Sakura, who don't have a lot of chakra, in our cases, that isn't really going to help," Kagome pointed out.

"Kagome, there are people out there that will have the same, if not more chakra than you out there. There are also people that may have less chakra then you and may still beat you because they know how to properly handle their chakra. Then again, you may not be able to do it, it is very difficult, you-" Kakashi didn't even finish, when Naruto pointed at him, "Yeah right! We'll master this in a day! Just you WATCH!"

Kakashi smirked, "In that case, let me show you how and you all can get to it."

Kakashi walked up to the tree and placed his right foot on the bark…and walked straight up. Naruto, Kagome, and Sasuke's eyes widened and Sakura's jaw dropped.

Kakashi mentally laughed at their expressions. "The bottom of the feet is the hardest place to focus your chakra to, focus it there and start climbing," Kakashi ordered.

~Omake~

Sasuke had finished eating and was heading to bed when he heard voices talking in Kakashi-sensei's room. Entering, he saw Naruto and Kagome huddled over the head of their sensei.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

Kagome and Naruto jumped back at the sound of his voice.

"Teme!"

"Sasuke!"

Their whispered voices mixed together.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at their guilty faces and walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"W-we were… um," Kagome mumbled, trying to think of an excuse.

"Aren't you curious?" Naruto whispered seeing that Kagome couldn't come up with an excuse that would fool Teme, instead they could try to get Sasuke interested.

Sasuke just raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Kaka-sensei is always wearing a mask, aren't you curious about why? Or what he looks like without the mask?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's face deadpanned and turned away, his hand was on the doorknob when Kagome's voice stopped him, "What if he has really fat lips and is too ashamed to show them?"

Naruto caught on to what Kagome was doing and joined in, "What if he doesn't have lips? Like, it's just his mouth?"

"Maybe he has horrible sideburns?"

"What if he has really big teeth that are too big to fit in his mouth?"

"What if his face got burned off and he's so hideous that nobody will come near him with his mask off?"

A shiver went up Sasuke's spine and he clenched and unclenched his hand from the doorknob.

Kagome and Naruto had matching grins, just a little more.

"We may never get a better chance than this, after all, Sensei is asleep, there is no one here but us," Kagome coaxed Sasuke, grinning triumphantly when his hand left the doorknob and he silently walked back over to them.

Unknown to the three genin, Kakashi was awake and had heard every word, from the moment Naruto brought up the idea to Kagome, to them persuading Sasuke to join in.

A plan began to form in his head.

"Alright, quietly," Kagome whispered as they tiptoed over to their prone sensei. Kagome was knelt beside her Sensei's head; Naruto and Sasuke were on either side of her, standing partially behind her.

Kagome's hand reached out, shaking slightly, it got closer to Kaka-sensei's face, until they were mere centimeters apart…

"Mm, Icha Icha," Kakashi mumbled, scaring the three genin who were so startled by their sleeping sensei, that they shot across the room to the farthest corner away rom their Sensei.

Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke had wide eyes and Kagome's hand found her way to her chest, trying to calm her errant heartbeat.

"Who's next?" Kagome whispered.

Naruto gulped and tiptoed forward, the other two flanking him on his sides.

Naruto's hand reached out, closer…

…closer

…a bit closer

…

They flew back across the room as Kakashi turned his body so that it was facing the three genin and brought his hands up to tuck them under his head.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, it was his turn.

Sasuke braced himself, Naruto and Kagome were right behind him on either side. Getting closer to the bed, he quietly kneeled down and slowly brought his hand up.

… 3 inches away

… 2 inches away

… A couple of centimeters away

His fingers slowly grasped the top of the mask…

_Creak_

"What's going on?"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kagome whirled around to face…

"Tsunami-san!" Kagome said surprised, the three tried to inconspicuously back away from their Sensei's face.

"Nothing, we were… um, we were just taking off Sensei's mask so that he won't be uncomfortable," Kagome said quickly.

"Now, that's enough. Get to bed, you all need your rest after working so hard, I'll take care of your Sensei," Tsunami said in a motherly voice.

Not wanting to be rude, the three genin got up and headed out the door, saying their good nights.

"We will see what is under that mask!" Kagome vowed standing in the hallway outside their rooms, Naruto and Sasuke nodded, determination in their eyes, before they each retired to their respective rooms.

~o0o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emerald: How many of you thought I was actually going to let them see Kakashi's face? Be honest!


	15. Blackmail, Dog-san, & A Warning

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

Kakashi walked up to the tree and placed his right foot on the bark…and walked straight up. Naruto, Kagome, and Sasuke's eyes widened and Sakura's jaw dropped.

Kakashi mentally laughed at their expressions. "The bottom of the feet is the hardest place to focus your chakra to, focus it there and start climbing," Kakashi ordered.

**Now:**

Kagome groaned as she fell on her butt for the umpteenth time, Naruto and Sasuke weren't doing much better.

"Kagome! Get back to training!" Kakashi called, smirking behind his book as Kagome glowered at him.

Kagome growled, "I'm not resting!" She got back up, muttering about stupid jounin sensei with stupid exercises, but before she could run at the tree again, Sakura's shrill voice greeted her ears.

"Sasuke-kun! Look! I'm at the top!" Everyone looked up to see the pink-haired banshee at the top of the tree.

Kakashi hummed, he had a feeling that out of the four, Sakura would be the one with the best chakra control; she, after all, had less chakra than the other three, "Well done Sakura! You are the first to make it to the top!"

Kakashi had also thought that Kagome would be up there with Sakura, and that both would have good chakra control, he mentally shrugged, he'd been wrong before. Then again, perhaps it wasn't so surprising with the amount of chakra Kagome possessed.

Sakura glowed under the praise of her Sensei; she looked towards her Sasuke-kun and saw a dark scowl on his handsome face. Her smile dropped, "Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke didn't say a word; he turned and went back to his training, redoubling his efforts.

Sakura looked down, she thought that Sasuke would be happy with her if she did well, but he wasn't.

" _ **Cha! We'll just have to try harder and show Sasuke-kun that we're way better!"**_

* * *

After falling on her sore butt, again, Kagome caved and finally went to Sakura.

"Hey! Sakura!" Kagome whispered.

Sakura looked towards Kagome, "What?"

"How'd you do it? What's the trick?" Kagome asked.

"It's not that hard, really, all you have to do is visualize and then move your chakra to your feet."

Kagome raised a brow and silently motioned for her to elaborate.

"Well, imagine your chakra gathering at the bottom of your feet, try making it like a thin layer that surrounds the bottom and then walk up the tree, but don't make it too little," Sakura shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

Perhaps Sakura wasn't as bad as Kagome had thought, nodding in gratitude to the girl, Kagome walked over to 'her' tree as Sakura left to go back to the house where Kakashi-sensei had already gone back to rest.

* * *

Kagome smirked, "HEY!"

Sasuke and Naruto looked up. Kagome stuck out her tongue; she was standing on a branch parallel to where Sakura had been on the next tree.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted, he growled and jumped down from his tree.

"So how'd you do it?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's ears twitched as he inched closer to eavesdrop.

Kagome smirked, knowing Sasuke's ego, he wouldn't ask. Oh, but she would make him, oh yes she would.

Kagome tugged Naruto closer and whispered in his ears. Naruto's eyes widened in realization, as he was about to pull away, Kagome tugged him back and whispered again.

Naruto smirked and the glint in Kagome's eyes appeared in Naruto's, as he watched Sasuke trying to eavesdrop without them noticing.

Sasuke growled inaudibly, he knew she was doing it on purpose so that he would have to ask to get the information from her. He had known those two long enough to know that they would try to make him ask. He would figure it out, damn it! He wasn't the rookie of the year and a prodigy for nothing.

Naruto noticed Sasuke was glaring at them; he turned and gave him a shit-eating grin before whispering in Kagome's ear again.

* * *

Kagome had walked up and down the tree a few more times, by the time she felt that she had mastered the chakra exercise, to the point of being able to do it in her sleep, it was almost 8:30 pm.

"Try not to stay out too long!" She called over her shoulder at the still practicing boys. Naruto was way ahead of Sasuke, if Sasuke ever wanted to catch up, he would have to ask.

Sasuke watched Kagome leave; he looked over to the blond, making a split second decision, he walked over and poked Naruto in the arm.

"So, uh, what did she say?" Sasuke asked, barely controlling his twitch.

* * *

Unknown to the two boys, Kagome was hiding in one of the trees watching them, a Cheshire grin on her face.

* * *

Naruto wanted to grin, but he held it in for a look of confusion.

"What?"

Sasuke almost scowled at the blond, he could tell from the glint in his eyes and the way the corner of his mouth curled, trying to stop from grinning, that the blond knew exactly what he was talking about and was doing this on purpose.

"Kagome, what did she say," Sasuke ground out.

Naruto was enjoying this, the mighty Uchiha, Sasuke was asking him for help.

"Oh, you know," Naruto said nonchalantly, "she just gave me a few tips on how to go about doing the exercise."

Sasuke was getting impatient, he mentally sighed, he hoped he wouldn't have to come out and say it, "What were the tips?"

Naruto's face broke into a full-blown grin, "Does the mighty Uchiha, Sasuke need help?"

Seeing Sasuke's glare, Naruto's grin widened even more if possible.

Sasuke stalked over to Naruto, standing inches away from his face.

* * *

Kagome's eyes widened, she took out a scroll from one of her storage pouches. She swiftly and quietly unsealed a small camera, not taking her eyes away from the scene in front of her.

* * *

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto stuttered as he backed into the tree he had been practicing on.

"Dobe," Sasuke leaned closer, trapping the smaller male against the tree with his arms on either side of Naruto's head. Bringing his lips closer to the tan ear, his breath ghosted over the soft flesh, making Naruto shudder.

Sasuke's hands traveled down, skimming the black cloth, until they came to rest on either side of his stomach.

"T-teme, w-what are you doing?" Naruto squirmed; he cursed his stuttering as the fingers ghosted over a particularly ticklish spot. He really wished he hadn't take off his orange jacket.

"Tell me, or else," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto locked eyes with the dark pools in front of him, a challenge surfacing in his crystal blue eyes, "Or else, what?"

Sasuke smirked and ran his fingers over the blond's abdomen.

Naruto let out a small giggle before clamping his mouth shut.

* * *

Kagome grinned, snapping pictures, she was in heaven with all the blackmail material. This. Was. Gonna. Be. Good!

* * *

Kagome walked in to the house, humming a cheerful tune.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You seem to be in a good mood."

She held up her small black camera.

Kagome gave a terrifying smirk, a glint in her sapphire eyes, "Hn."

For once, she didn't mind using the Uchiha grunt, it summed up her mood perfectly.

Kakashi felt a shiver run up his spine, he wondered what his life would've been like had he failed Team 7 like all the others.

'Less insane,' the thought came immediately.

* * *

_**SLAM** _

"Ah, Naruto and Sasuke are back."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Kagome replied, rolling her eyes at her sensei, "Both of you go wash and come down so I can heal you, you can eat after you both are healed."

Both of them were dirty and had multiple wounds, though, Naruto's were already beginning to heal. Probably from the spar that had ensued after Sasuke had done  _that_ to Naruto.

Naruto gave her a two-fingered salute and marched up the stairs, yelling, "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, "Hn."

"I've seen you heal before, but how come your medical ninjutsu is blue and not green?" Kakashi asked after the two had gone upstairs.

Kagome shook her head, "That's because I don't use medical ninjutsu. You know that I come from the Higurashi clan, right?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Well, the Higurashi have another energy source that they wield besides chakra, it's holy energy. It's different from chakra because where chakra is a balance between spiritual and physical energy, holy energy is purely spiritual. I can use that energy to heal wounds, among other things," Kagome explained.

"Like purifying killing intent?" Kakashi asked.

Kagome nodded, "Yes, like at the bridge. It's also extremely hard to keep my chakra balanced during a jutsu because sometimes my holy energy will mix with my chakra, making it unstable and the jutsu will blow up in my face."

Kakashi hummed, he'd have to get some more chakra control exercises for Kagome to do.

Kagome smirked, "Also, when have you seen me heal before, Kaka-sensei? I haven't used my healing ability in front of you."

"The Hokage told me," Kakashi replied without hesitation.

Kagome smirked triumphantly, "Really, but the Hokage doesn't know the color of my ability, only Dog-san does…"

Kakashi coughed and went back to reading his porn.

"It's too bad Dog-san is retired, he was very powerful," Kagome said after a moment.

Kakashi replied without looking up from his porn, "Of course, he was an ANBU captain and he still is very powerful."

A small grin slipped on to her face, "Really? I don't know, it just seems like he's become rusty, lazy, just because he's no longer in ANBU."

Kakashi narrowed his eye behind his book, 'Oh, she did  _not_ just say that.'

"Why do you say that," he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

Kagome smirked, noticing the slight strain in his voice. It was well hidden, but after spending as much time as she had with Sesshoumaru, she had gotten pretty good at deciphering differences in tone.

"Just saying, if Dog-san were battling Zabuza at full-strength, like in ANBU, he wouldn't have fainted and he would've beaten him completely."

Before Kakashi could reply, Naruto came down the stairs followed by Sasuke.

* * *

"Alright Sasuke, your turn," Kagome said after she finished checking Naruto over. Naruto walked out of the living room and into the kitchen where Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and Sakura were already seated and eating dinner.

Kagome raised an eyebrow when Sasuke didn't move from his spot.

"Hn, I don't need healing."

Kagome deliberately poked at the bruise forming on Sasuke's neck, making him wince slightly.

"Sasuke, sit down, take off your shirt and let me heal you."

"No."

"Fine," Kagome smiled a saccharine sweet smile.

A chill ran down Sasuke's spine.

"Hey, Kaka-sensei! You want know what Sasuke did when he was 4?" Kagome asked sweetly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "You don't even know what happened."

Kagome smiled sweetly, "Don't I? Let's see, there was a red ball, lipstick-"

"Fine." Sasuke interrupted, a slightly panicked edge in his voice. He sat down across from her, pulling his shirt off, with a small blush on his cheeks.

Kagome smirked and started healing him.

"Hey, Kaka-sensei," Kagome called, getting her sensei's attention, "Hm?"

"Your Sharingan eye, how come it doesn't deactivate?" Kagome asked, tilting her head.

"Did you steal it?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.

Kagome smacked him upside the head, "Show some respect."

"No, I didn't steal it, I'm surprised you haven't heard of me, the Uchiha clan hated me. My teammate was an Uchiha, he gave me his eye before he died on a mission," Kakashi said.

_~Flashback~_

" _I won't let anything happen to my comrades," Kakashi said._

_~Flashback End~_

Kagome sucked in a breath and Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt, as they both remembered what their sensei had said at the bridge. Sasuke mumbled a small, barely audible, apology.

"Anyways, the Sharingan isn't natural for me, that's why it doesn't deactivate," Kakashi continued after a pause.

Kagome furrowed her brow, "That's not right, if the eye is transplanted correctly, it should obey the body. Once an eye is transplanted, it becomes part of that body. There's some complicated medical explanation that goes beyond my knowledge of it, but I do know that you should be able to activate and deactivate it at will."

Kakashi hummed in thought, but didn't say anything else on the subject.

"Your done, go eat," Kagome said, and let Sasuke put his shirt back on and walk to the kitchen.

After Sasuke was out of earshot, Kakashi turned to Kagome and raised an eyebrow, "So what happened?"

Kagome looked confused, "Huh?"

"What did Sasuke do when he was 4? Red ball, lipstick?" Kakashi explained seeing her confusion.

"Oh!" Kagome grinned and shrugged, "Beats me, he was acting weird when he was 4, that's what tipped me off, something about a red ball, lipstick, glitter, duct tape, and tomatoes."

Kagome sighed, "I tried to get the story out of Hahaue, but she just laughed and shook her head. Then I tried to get the story out of him, but it was like trying to beat Naruto at poker. Impossible. All I got were bits and pieces, involving those things. "

Kakashi chuckled. Oh, she was good. Kakashi then raised an eyebrow, a glint in his eye, "Since when did you two play poker?"

Kagome laughed nervously, and remembered that back-door poker games were illegal in Konoha, "Hehe, oh, you know, at home, for fun. Hehe."

Kakashi hummed, but let it go.

'Kunai dodged,' Kagome thought in relief, as she and Kakashi stood to go eat as well.

* * *

'Dinner went fairly well,' Kagome thought. Inari had run off after Sakura asked about the torn picture and Tazuna explained about Kaiza. After that, Naruto had also left, saying that he needed to go train.

'Poor Inari.' She should've gone and talked to the poor kid then, but Kaka-sensei had held her back, well, she'd go now, if someone didn't snap that boy out of it, it wouldn't be pretty later on.

She stood up to go talk to him, but stopped when her door opened and Naruto stepped in.

"Naruto?"

He turned to look at her, she gasped, instead of his crystal blue eyes, there, staring back at her, were crimson red, the eyes contained slits for pupils and the whisker marks on his cheek had become thick and jagged.

"What did you do to Naruto?" Kagome asked immediately, her miko ki flaring and beginning to gather in her palms.

" **Calm down, miko, I simply need to talk without the Kit hearing anything, he is simply sleeping,"**  Kurama said, trying to calm the flare of power.

Kagome calmed a bit at hearing Naruto being called 'Kit'. Kitsunes wouldn't harm someone they considered a son, or at least a child. She stopped her ki from gathering too much and tipping off Kakashi-sensei, but she didn't let go of the power that was already there. Kitsunes were tricksters, and she knew that better than anyone, being the mother of one.

"What do you need to say to me that you can't tell Naruto?"

" **A warning. After three days have passed, do not let Naruto sleep in the forest."**

"What? Why would Naruto be sleeping in the forest? Is he in danger?" Kagome asked, puzzled and alarmed from what the fox demon was saying.

" **You will know when the time is right. Take his place in the forest, and you will know what to do."**

"Just tell me!" Kagome snapped, frustrated.

" **I cannot,"** Kurama sighed.

"Why not?"

" **You just need to trust me, don't let Naruto sleep in the forest three days from now. You need to end it before it begins."**

Kagome sighed, "Give me one good reason why I should trust you."

" **If you don't, Sasuke will die."**

"Where did Sasuke come from?! I thought this was about Naruto!" Kagome asked bewildered.

" **I cannot answer any of your questions right now, but soon, you will know. You are the guardian of my crystal; I would never put it in danger. That should be enough for you to trust me,"** Kurama said, before he walked out of her room, leaving a shocked Kagome behind.

'It's called the 'Ryuu no Kyuubi' crystal! The Dragon of the Nine-Tails Fox, chikuso! But, why am I the guardian? I'm a miko,' Kagome thought, she absently brought the crystal out from underneath the blue tank top she wore.

She sat down on her bed, examining the crystal, it was shaped like a shard of the Shikon jewel, but it was bigger and the color was a blood red, 'Like the color of Kyuubi's chakra! Why didn't I think of it before! But, if it really is Kyuubi's crystal, why is a miko a guardian of it? For that matter, what does it even do? If it's the Kyuubi's, then why does it have 'dragon' in it?'

Questions ran through Kagome's head, but one thing was clear, something was going on here, and the Kyuubi held the answers.

* * *


	16. A Discovery, A Smile, & A Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and/or Naruto, but I do own a Pikachu plushie!

Warning: Innuendos! I cannot be responsible for your dirty minds!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

" **I cannot answer any of your questions right now, but soon, you will know. You are the guardian of my crystal; I would never put it in danger. That should be enough for you to trust me,"** Kurama said, before he walked out of her room, leaving a shocked Kagome behind.

'It's called the 'Ryuu no Kyuubi' crystal! The Dragon of the Nine-Tails Fox, chikuso! But, why am I the guardian? I'm a miko,' Kagome thought, she absently brought the crystal out from underneath the blue tank top she wore.

She sat down on her bed, examining the crystal, it was shaped like a shard of the Shikon jewel, but it was bigger and the color was a blood red, 'Like the color of Kyuubi's chakra! Why didn't I think of it before! But, if it really is Kyuubi's crystal, why is a miko a guardian of it? For that matter, what does it even do? If it's the Kyuubi's, then why does it have 'dragon' in it?'

Questions ran through Kagome's head, but one thing was clear, something was going on here, and the Kyuubi held the answers.

* * *

**Now:**

All thoughts about Inari were forgotten as she sat cross-legged to think about what Kurama had said. She sighed; she needed to clear her head. She let her eyes close and her breathing evened out to a steady rhythm.

She delved into her mind, trying to find her core, it took her some time, a bit more than usual, but she found it. Her eyes widened and the color drained from her face (AN: I know this is in her mind, but think of it like Naruto visiting the Kyuubi, he has a mental form of himself).

Her once pure pearl-white core now had glowing blood red tendrils weaving in and out of it. The tendrils were the same color as Kurama's chakra and the crystal in her possession. She could've sworn her core was a pure pearl-white when she had meditated the last time. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Her brow furrowed, the last time she had checked up on her core was…right before the Bell test! How could it have become so different in five weeks?

She poked one of the red tendrils, it didn't move. She laid her hand on the red part covering her core, the tendrils were soft, like smoothened fur, and each tendril was wider than both her hands side by side.

She didn't notice the one that sneaked up on her until it wrapped around her waist.

She yelped as it lifted her up and tossed her through the air, the air rushed out of her lungs as she flew through the air, before she could hit the ground, the same tentacle caught her again. Kagome was confused, why didn't it just let her drop? She was thrown into the air again, "WOAH!"

Was it, was it  _playing_  with her? Was it sentient? Maybe she could talk to it…

"Um, could you, uh, set me down…please?" Kagome asked, she felt foolish talking to the tentacle, but was surprised that it listened and set her down.

It rubbed up her side, and wrapped around her in a sort of, what she guessed, hug, before it let go completely and just floated in front of her, it's long body connecting to her core. She saw that the tentacle got narrower towards the tip until it was only as wide as four of her fingers

Kagome blinked and carefully petted the tip; she could feel it vibrating, sort of like a purr. She shook her head, deciding to contemplate it later. She blinked as she heard a knock on her door.

* * *

Kakashi watched Inari cry, maybe he should've let Kagome handle this, but he knew that even Kagome was not without bias and she could end up doing more harm than good. No matter what her intentions were.

He walked over to the ledge and stood behind the small boy who was holding a picture of his father, his tears dripping on the glass with a light plopping sound.

"Can I sit with you?"

Inari nodded and Kakashi silently sat down, "You know, Naruto probably knows better than anyone what you're going through. Like you, he grew up without a father."

"He did?" Inari's watery voice came.

"Mhm, but, unlike you, he didn't have his mom or grandpa. He doesn't even know who his parents are, and to make it worse, the villagers all hated him and he didn't even know why. The people who care about him can be counted on one hand."

Inari gasped, "B-but, he's always so happy and he has that idiotic grin on his face! I've never seen him cry or even be sad!"

Kakashi nodded, "We are ninja, sooner or later we learn to bury our emotions or we go insane from them. Naruto learned early on to hide his emotions, perhaps a little too well. The people who can really tell what he's thinking are very few and most of them are on this team."

Inari blinked, wiping away his tears and sniffing a little, "Compared to Naruto, I've been crying over nothing."

They sat in silence for a bit while Inari thought about what he had been told, he finally spoke, breaking the silence, "I promise, I'm not going to just sit around and cry anymore! I'm going to be strong, like Naruto!"

Kakashi eye-smiled and ruffled Inari's hair, "You do that."

* * *

"Kagome?" Sasuke poked his head in the door after not getting a response to his knock.

Kagome blinked, coming out of her meditative state, "Hm? Sasuke? What're you doing here?"

She looked to the side and saw that Sakura was already asleep on her futon. She motioned Sasuke to step out, coming out after him so as not to disturb the pinkette.

"Where's Naruto?"

Kagome frowned, "Isn't he sleeping? In  _your_  room?"

Sasuke shook his head, "If he were, I wouldn't be asking you."

"He's gone out to train."

Kagome and Sasuke jumped, immediately going on the defensive, they turned to see Kakashi standing in the hallway, his hands in his pockets and, for once, without his porn.

"Training? Now?" Kagome asked incredulously as she lowered her kunai and put it away.

"Hn." Sasuke put away his kunai and loosened his stance.

"Well, he says training, I say letting off steam," Kakashi replied, amused, "Good reflexes, but you need to be more aware, so you won't be startled in the first place. Now, go to bed, Naruto will come when he's done."

Kagome pursed her lips, Kurama's warning still in her mind, "Are you sure? Maybe we should call him in…" Kagome trailed off.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"

"I just think, that now we know that Zabuza has an accomplice, we shouldn't take unnecessary risks," Kagome said. She wasn't going to say anything about Kurama's warning, this was her responsibility, she wouldn't burden anyone else with her task.

Kakashi didn't believe Kagome, but he decided not to mention it, he'd find out sooner or later, "Zabuza's accomplice will be busy taking care of him, and he won't leave Zabuza when he is in such a vulnerable state. It's fine. Now, bed, both of you."

They nodded and separated into their rooms.

* * *

Sasuke scowled, Naruto hadn't come back to the house except to eat since he had disappeared the night before. What was going on with the Dobe?

That's it! He was going to go and check on him!

"Breakfast!" Tsunami's voice came from downstairs.

Never mind, he'd see the Dobe in a moment.

He met up with a half-wake Kagome still in her pajamas at the top of the stairs. She was wearing those ridiculous light blue pajamas with penguins dancing across the pants and one giant penguin on the light blue tank top holding a snowball. Her hair was in a loose bun at the nape of her neck.

"Morning."

"Grhanm," and a yawn was the only response he got.

Sasuke stifled a smile; Kagome was never a morning person. It seemed like that didn't change when she became a ninja.

They climbed down the stairs, Kagome half falling, and made it into the kitchen in one piece with Kagome's arms encircling Sasuke's left arm and her head using Sasuke's shoulder as a pillow.

"Having a nice nap there, Kagome?" Kakashi asked, humor lacing his voice.

Sasuke sighed, "Kagome, my arm's getting numb."

"Mm."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, there was no getting her off until she had food in her mouth or something cold on her face, he looked around, "Where's Naruto?"

"He hasn't arrived yet, I think he might have overslept, why don't you go get him?" Kakashi suggested.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kagome, "You can take Kagome with you, that way she doesn't lose her bed," Kakashi chuckled. Sasuke could feel the smirk in Kakashi's voice. He scowled and led Kagome out the door. The fresh air hit Kagome, making her open bleary blue eyes. She shivered a little as a small breeze blew on her bare arms.

"Sas, why're we outside?" Kagome asked, yawning. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let go of Sasuke just enough to walk properly; she didn't want to lose body heat.

"We're going to find the Dobe."

Kagome lightly smacked Sasuke on the arm, "Why do you call him that? You know that he's strong."

"I wouldn't hit the person you're using as a personal heater," Sasuke said.

Kagome painfully tightened her arms around Sasuke's, "Don't you dare."

Sasuke suppressed a wince,  _'Damn! She has a strong grip.'_

Just then a brown haired girl in a pink kimono walked passed them. Just up ahead they could see Naruto sitting on the ground with a slack jaw.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Naruto?"

No response.

"Dobe?"

"Teme!" Naruto's voice shouted.

"What happened?" Kagome asked waving a hand in his direction.

Naruto shook his head, "Did you see that person that just walked away?"

Kagome and Sasuke nodded.

"The girl?" Kagome replied.

"He was a boy," Naruto stated bluntly.

* * *

"Naruto?" Inari called, as he was about to leave.

Naruto cocked his head, "What?"

"I'm sorry for what I said. I've decided to stop crying and I'm going to become strong, just like you!" Inari gave the blond a hopeful smile.

Naruto smiled a soft smile, "I'm glad. Appreciate what you have, don't let it go, cause once it's gone, it won't come back," his smile turned into a grin, "And, of course I'm strong! I'm going to be Hokage!"

Inari grinned and nodded. He gave the blond one last smile before going back to the kitchen.

* * *

Sasuke had a small smile on his face as he watched his Dobe smile that true smile that rarely ever came out.

"Sasuke? What're you doing?" Kagome asked, coming up behind him.

"Hn."

Kagome rolled her eyes; she missed Inari turning the corner to the kitchen, as Sasuke slipped out the front door. She noticed Naruto standing just inside the door, putting on his sandals.

"Naruto," Kagome called him before he could walk out. She needed to do this now, it was the third day, and like Kurama had said, Naruto had slept outside the last two nights.

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

Naruto cocked his head, Kagome usually didn't use that tone of voice, it must've been serious.

"Outside?" He suggested.

Kagome shook her, "Upstairs."

Naruto nodded and followed Kagome up the stairs after taking off his sandals.

Kagome ushered Naruto into the room that she and Sakura shared. She quietly closed the door.

"Naruto, I need a favor. I need you to trust me. Don't ask any questions, just do as I say. Will you do it for me?"

Naruto nodded, "What is it that you need?"

"I need you to not sleep in the forest tonight," after a thought, she continued, "and tomorrow night."

Naruto opened his mouth, Kagome held up her hand, "I'm not asking you to stop training, just when you come to the house for dinner, stay inside afterwards. I need you to trust me."

"I trust you but why? And, is it dangerous?"

Kagome considered the question, "I can't tell you and I don't know. I think that this something is for my eyes alone. Promise me, you'll stay inside."

Naruto took a deep breath, "I promise, but if I feel anything is wrong, I'll be there."

Kagome shook her head, "No, Naru. Even if you hear me scream, you have to stay inside. I'm here for a reason. I just haven't figured out completely why."

"Kagome, I can't lose you," Naruto said, there was an unexplainable sadness in his eyes.

Kagome's eyes softened and she pulled him into a hug, "You won't. I promise. Promise me you won't sleep in the forest."

"I promise."

Kagome smiled and pulled away, "Thank you. I couldn't bear it if I lost you, especially if I was warned."

Naruto nodded, 'Warned? Who warned her? And what does she mean the reason why she's here?'

* * *

"Oh! Kaka-sensei!" Kagome exclaimed as she opened the door to see Kakashi walking down the hall away from their room.

"Hm?" He paused and turned around, looking up from his book.

Kagome stepped out of the room and walked towards Kakashi while Naruto slipped out behind her and closed the door. Naruto murmured something about training and slipped away before Kagome could reply.

"Did you talk to Inari?" Kagome asked after Naruto left.

Kakashi waited for Kagome to catch up to him, before he spoke, "Yes, I spoke to him the night I walked in on you and Sasuke."

Sakura glared at Kagome as she stopped walking to their room, "WHAT!?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Oh, calm down! If you hadn't noticed, he's like a brother!"

"STAY AWAY FROM MY SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screeched, not hearing what Kagome said, and stomped the rest of the way to their room, muttering.

Kagome turned accusing eyes on her sensei, "You did that on purpose!"

Kakashi eye-smiled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Argh! Never mind, back to the topic. How is he? Is he still depressed?"

"No, he wants to become a strong person like Naruto." Kagome could hear the smile in his voice.

"Speaking of, what were you two talking about?" Kakashi asked, his eyes not moving from his book.

"Oh, that! I was just concerned about him sleeping in the forest, nothing much," Kagome shrugged casually, hoping that he wouldn't say anything.

"You're about 20 years too early to fool me, Kagome," Kakashi stopped; he took Kagome's arm and shunshin-ed to the rooftop.

Kagome's eyes widened, she tried getting away, but she wasn't fast enough and landed on her ass.

"You have an awful lot of secrets, Kagome, I know you're not an imposter, but I can't seem to figure you out. So, we're going to have a long talk, one in which you are going to tell me everything."

Kakashi's tall form loomed over her short frame. Kagome gulped, how was she going to get out of this?

* * *


	17. Kakashi, Midnight Meeting, & Daiki

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and/or Naruto.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" _Mind Speak"_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

**'Kyuubi Thinking'**

**" _Inner Sakura"_**

**Last Time:**

"You're about 20 years too early to fool me, Kagome," Kakashi stopped; he took Kagome's arm and shunshin-ed to the rooftop.

Kagome's eyes widened, she tried getting away, but she wasn't fast enough and landed on her ass.

"You have an awful lot of secrets, Kagome, I know you're not an imposter, but I can't seem to figure you out. So, we're going to have a long talk, one in which you are going to tell me everything."

Kakashi's tall form loomed over her short frame. Kagome gulped, how was she going to get out of this?

**Now:**

He sighed as he walked through the forest, looking up at the canopy of trees that surrounded him.

"Oi! Teme!"

Sasuke turned at the sound of his Dobe's voice; he slowed to a stop and waited for his Dobe to catch up to him… Wait, his?

"What?" Sasuke asked once the blond had caught up to him. The blond grinned at him. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat, it took him a few moments to snap himself out of it, and he mentally shook his head.

"-r. So, what do you say?"

Sasuke blinked, he had missed what Naruto had said, "Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes, I'm gonna kick your ass."

'When in doubt…' Sasuke smirked, "Let's see you try, Dobe."

"Teme! I'll knock that cocky smirk right off your face!"

~o0o~

"Can I interfere  _now_?" An irate blond, who was currently a redhead, asked.

"We are not supposed to, the only one who can make changes is Kagome, that was the deal.  _I_  am not even supposed to be here. Already, two things have changed because of us, we can't risk it."

"But, it'll be worse if we don't, at least let  _me_  go!" Forest green eyes clashed with amber.

"We do not know what the consequences will be if we do, we can't take the chance of you going. He is your student, he may recognize you, no matter how well you can use fuuinjutsu to disguise yourself," Sesshoumaru added as he saw the faux redhead open his mouth to argue.

He huffed, "Well then, you go! You were going to meet up with her tonight, might as well push up the meeting. If you don't show up, then Kagome will think Kurama was lying."

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow, "He  _was_  lying. There is no danger to the Uchiha or the Uzumaki, tonight. Also, if we interfere now, it'll create an opening for certain other parties. It's too early and the consequences can be extremely damaging. No. She's on her own for now. I will meet with her tonight. You  _will_ stay here and not interfere. That's  _final_ and stop pouting," he said, adding a glare for good measure.

Arashi huffed. He was  _not_ pouting, no matter what it looked like.

They were hidden deep in the forest away from prying eyes. A small white puppy with red eyes watched the two argue as he sat on the branch in front of his master.

Sesshoumaru looked at the small white pup at his feet, "Daiki, go keep tabs on the conversation and report back in once they are finished."

Daiki let out a small "woof" in response and jumped away.

~o0o~

"Out with it," Kakashi said, still towering over her small frame.

Kagome winced, she knew that tone, it was his "Tell-Me-What-I-Want-To-Know- _Now_ -Or-Else." She had heard Dog-san use that tone on the villagers quite a few times. 'This just proves that Kaka-sensei is Dog-san,' Kagome thought. She mentally shook her head; this was  _not_  the time for that.

"Look, Kakashi-sensei, I can't tell you. It's simply not an option," Kagome said, hoping her sensei would understand.

"Why?"

The simple word stopped Kagome in her tracks.

Why couldn't she tell anyone? Wouldn't having an adult Shinobi on her side be beneficial to her? She had just assumed that it needed to be kept a secret, but she could trust Kakashi-sensei, couldn't she?

A picture came to her mind, of the friends and family that she had lost in the Feudal Era, the bonds that still ached in her heart at their loss, but then a picture of the people that she had grown close to in this world formed.

Naruto.

Sasuke.

Kakashi-sensei.

Sandaime-jiji.

Iruka-sensei.

Teuchi-san.

Ayame-nee-chan.

Ita- She stubbornly stopped  _that_  image from forming.

A red crystal flashed in her mind, and suddenly, she could feel the weight of it against her chest. She couldn't get anyone involved; they would just be taken away from her again or used against her. Unlike in the Feudal Era, these weren't mindless demons with the occasional smart demon boss. These were smart humans with powers to wield the elements and extreme fighting skills with even smarter and more powerful bosses.

Unlike the Feudal Era, there wasn't one clear enemy; at least there, she had known that Naraku was the main villain, but here? She had no clue, it could be an organization, it could even be a Kage, not to mention if the village elders of Konoha ever found out. Power-hungry bastards.

A traitorous voice in her head murmured that Kakashi was already a ninja, he was in danger anyway, and it wouldn't make much of a difference to him, it would actually be beneficial to have him in on the secret of the crystal. But it would, it would make a difference to her.

She closed her eyes and strengthened her resolve, but there was a small doubt niggling in the back of her mind, but she ignored it, she would keep her loved ones safe, this was not their burden to carry.

~o0o~

Kakashi watched as emotions flittered across his student's eyes, no matter how good Kagome was at keeping her emotions at bay, her eyes always showed what she was feeling.

Confusion, hope, sadness, loneliness, uncertainty, her eyes closed, and he could see her body harden with determination.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, I can't tell you, and I am not willing to give you a reason," Kagome said.

"Why?" He asked once more.

Kagome paused for another moment before she replied, "Because you cannot help me even if I confided in you."

They both knew that was a lie, Kakashi would be an invaluable asset, but she wouldn't take the risk.

"Does the Sandaime know?" Kakashi asked.

Kagome shook her head, then paused, "I don't know. I mean, he does have that crystal ball of his, but as far as I know, no."

Kakashi nodded, he'd have to see if the Sandaime knew when they got back to Konoha. There was one last question he wanted to ask.

"Will your secret endanger Konoha?" Kakashi asked. If this was something that could put Konoha in harm's way, he needed to know.

Kagome hesitated, thinking it over, would it put her home in danger? She shook her head, as long as she was strong and kept it to herself, no one would be hurt. After all, there was no mention of a powerful crystal in any scroll that she had searched for, but that didn't mean there were no mentions of it in any scroll in another village.

"No," Kagome said.

Kakashi considered her, before he nodded, he would wait. He had planted the seed of doubt in her mind, now she had to be the one to take the next step, however, a little more nudging wouldn't hurt.

"Kagome," Kakashi started, "I'm here if you need me, I will always be here for you, don't forget, you're not alone," with that said, Kakashi leaped down from the roof.

Although he didn't like not knowing, he could be patient, plus he had an inkling that her secret had to do with the two men he had seen a while back. Something bigger was going on, and he would be damned he didn't find out what.

Kagome sighed in relief, she was glad that he didn't push, she had no doubt in her mind that if he had wanted, he would've been able to get the information from her.

Kagome watched him go. She bit her lower lip, had she made the right decision? Kagome shook her head, her braid swinging from side to side, she would stand by her decision, she would notsecond-guess her actions.

~o0o~

Kagome crossed her arms and propped one foot on the trunk of the tree she was leaning on. It was midnight and she had yet to see or meet anyone suspicious. Kagome ran a hand through her bangs, her head snapping to attention as leaves rustled to her left, she got out her kunai and, with deadly accuracy, hurled it at the bush.

"That was pathetic," A male voice sounded from the opposite side.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, that voice was familiar, "Show yourself!"

Kagome gaped as she took in the tall figure that had stepped out from the shadows.

His long silver hair shone brightly in the moonlight, his amber eyes glowing with a demonic light, showing that he wasn't entirely human, proven by his elf-like ears and the markings on his face. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt that had his blue crescent moon on the sleeves where the swirls usually were, black pants, and black boots; his dark blue flak jacket was left open.

"Miko, close your mouth," Sesshoumaru said, his tone not betraying his amusement.

Kagome's mouth snapped shut. She blinked a couple of times, not believing what she was seeing.

"Sess-wha-How?" Kagome asked, completely lost at the sight of her brother.

"There was a complication and I had to come after you," Sesshoumaru stated.

Kagome blinked, "But why didn't Midoriko-san tell me you were coming?"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, "That piece of her didn't know. She put a piece of her Miko Ki in your soul, so that when your memories awakened, she could come in to your dreams and train you, or a form of her could."

"Oh," Kagome said, then blinked.

"Wait…complication? What complication?" She demanded.

"Apparently, instead of seeing your birth, we saw you being taken out of a well by four men," Sesshoumaru replied, seeing her confusion, he decided to explain.

Kagome listened as he talked about what should have happened, as well as what had happened after she had been transported to this world.

Kagome digested the information, taking a moment to sigh, she asked, "Now what? What's happening? What did Kurama mean about Naruto and Sasuke being in danger?"

"You are aware that you will be battling again at the bridge?" Sesshoumaru asked, ignoring her questions for the moment.

Kagome's brow scrunched up, "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"On the bridge, the Uchiha will awaken his Sharingan, you must not allow that to happen," when Kagome opened her mouth to argue, Sesshoumaru held up a hand, "There are many things at work here, and only Kurama knows the full story, but what I know is that, this is the start of many bad things to come."

Kagome shook her head, frustrated, "But what does that have to do with Sasuke and his Sharingan? What does all this have to do with me and the crystal?"

"I cannot say, however, what I can say is that there was a deal made, a price paid, and you were brought here," Sesshoumaru said, as he leaned against the tree trunk opposite Kagome.

Kagome brought her fingers to her temples, trying to hold off the approaching headache.

"Fine," Kagome said, annoyance coating her tone, "At least tell me what this bloody crystal does."

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow, "You do not know?"

Kagome glared, "No."

A smirk formed on his face, "Hn."

Kagome's glare intensified, "Don't 'Hn' me! What is it supposed to do!?"

"You must find out for yourself, I thought it was quite obvious," Sesshoumaru said, nonchalantly, enjoying irritating the obviously frustrated girl before him.

"Obvious! It is not, obvious!" Kagome growled.

"You were so smart when you were little, what happened? Has being around the Uzumaki lowered your IQ and skills," Sesshoumaru asked, his eyes narrowing towards the end.

Kagome gulped, he was starting to go into what she called 'Sensei-mode'. It was when he was training her that she realized why he was so strong. In short, it was good for her skills, but extremely bad for her health.

"No, I just-"

"I know you are not stupid, Miko."

Kagome winced, before she could open her mouth, Sesshoumaru continued, "Your skill level should be around ANBU-level by now. Why is it, that you are still a lowly genin?"

"I-" he didn't let her finish.

"Could it be because you are slacking in your training?" Sesshoumaru asked, walking towards Kagome with slow steps.

"No," Kagome said, grateful that her voice didn't stutter. Sesshoumaru hated weakness. The truth was, she  _had_  been slacking. She was still pretty strong, but it was perhaps low Jōnin, high Chūnin.

"Miko, just because there is no visible threat, does not mean that there is no threat at all," Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome flinched and nodded. She knew that from experience.

"I expect to see you training harder, because the way you have been training recently has been lacking."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "You've been watching me?"

"Yes, I know everything that has been going on, I have to stay informed, after all," Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome gulped, "E-everything?" She cursed her stutter.

Sesshoumaru smirked, "Yes, and I seem to recall a certain jutsu involving me."

"Hehe, I don't know what you're talking about," Kagome said, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru drawled, amused.

He made a few handseals and slammed his hands on the grass, a small white dog with red eyes and a white scroll with intricate gold designs on the borders and his crescent moon in the middle, appeared.

He took the scroll out of its mouth and dismissed it with a nod of his head.

Kagome cocked her head, "What's that?"

"This is a summoning scroll, a Dog Demon summoning scroll to be exact."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, amused, "I'll be able to summon you in battle?"

Sesshoumaru glared, "Miko, do not insult this Sesshoumaru."

Kagome grinned, raising her hands in surrender, "Sorry, sorry."

"Hn." He unfurled the scroll and handed it to her, "Sign your name in blood here."

Kagome bit her right index finger till it bled and carefully signed her name at the bottom.

Sesshoumaru took the scroll, rolling it up, he put it between his hands and squeezed, making the scroll disappear with a puff of smoke.

"Do you know the handseals to do a summoning?"

Kagome nodded, she made the handseals and slammed her hands on the grass. A small white puppy with red eyes appeared, it was the same one from before, except this time it didn't have the scroll in its mouth. He looked like a miniature Sesshoumaru in his beast form, except without the acid in his mouth and crescent moon on his head.

Kagome smiled and knelt beside the little puppy, "Hey little guy, what's your name?"

The puppy "woofed," wagging it's small tail, it's front paws making their way on to her knees, giggling, Kagome scratched him behind his ears. His fur was soft, and she ran a hand through it, the little puppy was the size of a fully-grown Maltese.

" _I'm Daiki! You're pretty!"_

Kagome gasped and looked up to Sesshoumaru, silently asking what the hell was going on.

"This is Daiki, as you've probably heard from him, he can be used to get a hold of me. Also, his saliva can become acidic when he wants it to, and his bite is poisonous, but unlike the saliva, he can't control the poison of his bites. His claws also have poison, but that is controllable," Sesshoumaru said.

"Ok. Why is Daiki talking to me in my head?" Kagome asked.

"The pups can't talk in the human tongue, yet, as they are not fully-grown, so they used their mind-speak abilities to communicate," Sesshoumaru explained.

Kagome's mouth moved to form an 'Oh'.

Kagome giggled as the small puppy made pleasured growls in his throat as she scratched behind his ear.

" _Oh! Yeah, right there, oh, oh, yeah."_

Kagome laughed as she heard what the little pup said. His voice sounded a little like Sasuke on helium.

Sesshoumaru shook his head at the sight, his lips tilted up slightly.

"Can I speak to him in my mind?" Kagome asked, curiously.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Yes. It is almost time for me to leave, but before I go, I must tell you two things."

Kagome stood up with Daiki happily nuzzling in her arms, taking in his serious tone, "What is it?"

"First, beware of the council, and Homura, Koharu, and Danzō. Especially Danzō."

Kagome nodded, "You don't have to tell me. What's the other thing?"

"Inuyasha is here."

Kagome gasped, "What? Are you sure? How?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head, "An acquaintance of mine saw him, he described him, 'long silver hair and silver dog ears, he was rude and possessive'. I do not know how he managed to get here, but it has something to do with the Kikan dimension."

That's right, he had told her at the odd change of control. She bit her lip.

"You haven't met him yet?"

"No. But it is only a matter of time."

Kagome nodded, her lips pursed, "What do you think he wants?"

"You. Now that his dead miko is gone, he will come after you. I do not know if he knows about the crystal, but be careful," Sesshoumaru warned.

"Also, what was that with Kakashi?"

Kagome flinched, ah, so he knew about that, "It was nothing, I got out of it."

"Regardless, the fact that he was suspicious of you is not good. You may tell him, but only if you are sure."

Kagome nodded, "I don't think I will, I don't want to put him in danger."

"Do what you will, it is your secret, just make sure he does not became another Inuyasha."

Kagome nodded. Towards the end of their journey, Inuyasha had become more obsessive with getting the wish from the jewel and Kikyo.

She moved towards him, wrapping one arm around him, while holding the puppy in her other.

"Thank you," She whispered, burying her face in his jacket.

A hand came to rest upon her head, much like he had done with Rin.

He gently extracted her, "I must go, imouto."

Kagome nodded, a smile on her face as she heard the familiar endearment, "Bye, Aniki."

"One more thing."

Kagome looked up, tilting her head in curiosity.

"If I see you slacking in your training, then when I come back to train you, it will make the first time seem like a walk in the park."

A small whimper left her lips as she watched her Aniki walk in to the shadows, the darkness swallowing his form.

She looked down at the snoozing pup in her arms, oh, how she wished she could be in his place.

She left the forest clearing, heading back to Tazuna's home silently. If she had to take a guess, she'd say it was about 2:00 am.

"Daiki, come on pup, wake up," Kagome said, gently shaking the snoozing puppy.

Daiki yawned cutely, his canines showing and his tongue hanging out, and looked at her.

Kagome smiled, "You gotta go, I'll call you later if I need you."

Daiki gave a "woof" and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

~o0o~

Kagome lay on her futon, thinking about the meeting. 'Sesshoumaru', she smiled, 'who would've thought. I can't believe he's here.'

Her thoughts turned to his warning. Homura, Koharu, and Danzō.

She had met the interfering old bastards a couple of days after Naruto had moved in with her. She had been called to a council meeting with Naruto. Immediately after getting the summons, she had gone to Itachi, to get his advice on what she should do. It was then, that she was introduced to politics, and damn, did it give her a headache. Well, at least she had shown those bastards. It was a good thing that Dog-san, Jiji, and the Shinobi council were there, or she didn't think she would have made it out alive.

~Flashback~

"Higurashi, Kagome," An old woman by the name of Koharu had started off, "We have been made aware of a recent change in living situations concerning one Uzumaki, Naruto. Where is Uzumaki, Naruto?"

"He is unavailable, as it is my home, you may talk to me if it is living conditions that you wish to discuss," Kagome replied, her voice cold.

A civilian council member slammed his hands on the table, "We are your elders, you shall show us respect!"

Kagome simply arched an eyebrow, and turned away, completely ignoring the overweight man.

The man, about to start shouting, was cut off by her cold voice, "Get to the point, what do you want?"

"You are to make Uzumaki, Naruto leave your residence immediately," Homura said.

"Why? What is it to you if my friend stays with me? After all, you are not his parent," Kagome said.

"That is an S-class secret, you will remove him, he is dangerous," Danzō cut in.

"Oh?" Kagome's voice dropped a few degrees, "I am a child of 6 years of age, and yet, I know the difference between a kunai and a storage scroll. You who are adults and elders, should know this better than anyone, and yet here you are, thinking the prisoner is the prison…" Kagome trailed off.

Some of the civilian members looked like they had been slapped in the face, while most members of the Shinobi council had to hide their smirks. Inoichi gave a nod of his head towards Kagome, a proud gleam in his eye; even Shikaku opened one of eyes to give a smirk. Kagome acknowledged them with a tilt of her head.

"You have no control over Naruto, he is an orphan and as such, he is his own guardian. He stays. If that is all, I shall take my leave," Kagome said, she gracefully turned on her heel and walked out the door, not giving them a chance to respond.

~End Flashback~

Thankfully, Otou-san had been absent from  _that_  meeting. Though she had an inkling that he had heard of what happened. After all, when she had been questioned about Naruto being her roommate after the disastrous dinner, he hadn't seemed particularly surprised.

She mentally laughed, a week after that council meeting, she'd had the landlord sued.

~o0o~


	18. The Hero's Bridge

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and/or Naruto.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" _Mind Speak"_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

' **Kyuubi Thinking'**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

**Last Time:**

"You have no control over Naruto, he is an orphan and as such, he is his own guardian. He stays. If that is all, I shall take my leave," Kagome said, she gracefully turned on her heel and walked out the door, not giving them a chance to respond.

~End Flashback~

Thankfully, Otou-san had been absent from  _that_  meeting. Though she had an inkling that he had heard of what happened. After all, when she had been questioned about Naruto being her roommate after the disastrous dinner, he hadn't seemed particularly surprised.

Kagome yawned, exhausted from the day she had. She turned over, snuggling in to the warmth and drifting off to sleep.

**Now:**

"Good Morning!" Kagome smiled as she greeted the occupants at the table.

"Good Morning!" Naruto said, relieved that his friend was in one piece. Sasuke nodded, and Sakura gave an unintelligible grumble.

Kagome gave Naruto an imperceptible nod and looked around, finally noticing the absence of someone, "Where's Kaka-sensei?"

"He went out to stretch," Tsunami answered her as she set down a bowl of rice and fish in front of her.

"Thank you, so he's finally out of his crutches?" Kagome asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it's been almost a week. Today, you and Sasuke are guarding with Kaka-sensei, while Sakura and I train, then tomorrow, it'll be us at the bridge and you two training."

Kagome nodded. While she and Naruto had no problem working together, that left Sakura with Sasuke, which would be dangerous if they were attacked, because Sasuke would not be paying attention, trying to ignore Sakura, and Sakura would be trying to get Sasuke's attention. Naruto and Sasuke were always fighting; no matter if they could work together in a fight, it could have dangerous consequences if they started arguing in the middle of a fight; even if they got along better now, they still weren't the best of friends. Not to mention her and Sakura would also have a hard time working together, they each had a mutual dislike of the other.

Even though, Sakura hated Naruto, Naruto had more of a tolerance for his once crush than either of the two brunettes, so he was a better choice for her. Usually it wouldn't matter; they were expected to work together regardless of personal issues, however, since they were only genin, they were given some leeway.

The door opened a few minutes later and they could hear Kakashi coming in.

"Hello, everyone," Kakashi said, coming in to the kitchen.

He was greeted by all the voices in the kitchen, "Alright, Kagome, Sasuke, ready to leave?"

They both nodded.

"Tazuna-san?"

Tazuna nodded, "Just let me go get my stuff and we'll be off."

"Kagome? Did you remember to bring the thing?" Naruto asked, hoping to Kami that Kagome knew what he was talking about.

Kagome blinked, 'thing? What thing? Oh!'

"Yeah, it's upstairs, come on," Kagome said as she made her way to her room, Naruto on her heels. The other occupants looked curiously at each other after the duo had left.

~o0o~

"I assume the meeting went well?" Naruto asked after Kagome closed the door.

Kagome grinned, "Yeah, there's nothing to worry about."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her cheerful tone, "Why are you so happy?"

"It's nothing, I just met someone that I thought I would never see again," Kagome said.

Naruto's other eyebrow joined the first, but he chose to ignore it, "Does this mean I can train in the night again?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Yes, but I'd rather you still come home to sleep."

Naruto sighed, "It's just easier to sleep outside."

~o0o~

"This is so boring," Kagome sighed as she watched the on going construction.

"Hn."

"And you're no conversation maker either," Kagome grumbled.

"Kagome," Kakashi said, coming over to the two sitting on the sides.

Kagome perked up, "Yes?"

"You said that you had trouble with your chakra and miko ki mixing, right?" Kakashi asked.

Kagome nodded, "Since the tree-walking exercise, I seem to have gotten a lot better with it, but I still have to concentrate to keep my miko ki and chakra from mixing."

"Have you tried using your miko ki to do the tree-walking exercise?"

Kagome shook her head, "It doesn't work like that. My miko ki is purely spiritual energy, whereas chakra is a mix of spiritual and physical energy. That's why if my miko ki mixes with my chakra, I have an overbalance of spiritual energy and the jutsu blows up. Spiritual energy is used for purifying, it's not a physical thing, it can have a physical manifestation, but only a really high-level miko can do that, I'm nowhere near that level."

Kakashi hummed and walked away, taking out his porn once again.

Kagome looked after him curiously.

"I heard about that," A voice came from her left.

Kagome looked towards Sasuke, "What?"

He looked up, "You're from the Higurashi Clan, a clan of priests and priestesses."

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, I found out the day I ran in to Naruto, literally."

An eyebrow went up, "Hn?"

Kagome smiled and explained all about how she met Naruto and how she got him to move in with her. Despite Sasuke knowing her since he could remember and Naruto since they were in the same Academy class, he still didn't know the story of how they had met.

After a few moments, Kagome spoke again, deciding to take a chance, "You like him." It wasn't a question, and she didn't bother phrasing it as one.

"Hn… the Dobe isn't as bad as I thought he would be," he conceded.

"That isn't what I mean, and you know it," Kagome said, finally turning and locking her sapphire orbs with his onyx.

"Hn."

"Sasuke…" Kagome trailed off as he got up and walked away.

Kakashi came and sat next to her, "Trouble?"

"You eavesdrop a lot, don't you?" Kagome asked instead.

Kakashi eye-smiled, he didn't bother denying it.

Kagome sighed, "They'd be so good together!"

Kakashi chuckled, "How do you even know Sasuke is gay?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Please, have you seen him? He spends twenty minutes just styling his hair in the mornings!"

Kakashi chuckled again, "That doesn't mean he's gay. That just means he likes to look nice."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "I've never seen him interested in any girl, ever. He's got practically all the girls in Konoha after him, and he  **runs** from them. Any other guy would've been flattered, sure, they'd be annoyed after a while, but Sasuke's been like that from the start. Plus, have you seen they way he looks at Naruto?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Okay, say Sasuke is gay, how do you know if Naruto is gay? He does have his Sexy Jutsu."

Kagome gave him a look that said 'Don't-be-an-idiot.'

"I live with him," Kagome deadpanned, "Plus, I've seen him drooling over my version of the Sexy Jutsu. Even if he isn't gay, he's bi."

Kakashi chuckled, "You sure have thought a lot about this. Too bad Sasuke doesn't think the same way."

Kagome groaned and flopped down on to her back, "I know! That boy is so  **difficult**!"

Kakashi burst out laughing.

~o0o~

"Sakura, where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked as they all sat down for breakfast the next morning.

She sniffed, "He's outside, probably collapsed from chakra exhaustion."

"We should go look for him, he wasn't at dinner last night, either," Kagome said worried.

Kakashi agreed and got up, the rest of the team following him. They walked through the forest, Sakura leading them to the clearing where Naruto was last seen training.

"Naruto!" Kagome said, as she saw the orange form slumped on the ground, she ran over to him. A large snort came from the blond as he rolled over. She blew out a relieved breath.

Kakashi came over and knelt beside Kagome, he scanned the form, "He's only suffering from chakra exhaustion, he just needs rest and he'll be fine."

Sakura sniffed, "He's so irresponsible, he only does what he wants since he doesn't have any parents to tell him better, right Sasuke-kun?"

Kagome's fists clenched, before she could turn around and give Sakura a piece of her mind, Kakashi's hand landed firmly on her shoulder.

"Sakura, that is out of line," Kakashi said, turning his head to his pink-haired student.

Sakura blushed and looked down.

Kakashi picked Naruto up bridal style and started back towards the house.

Kagome fell back to walk with Sakura, her eyes narrowed, "That was low Sakura, even for you."

Sakura glared at her, "Shut up!"

Kagome opened her mouth to say something more, but a look from Kakashi-sensei shut her up and she sped up to walk beside Sasuke instead.

Once they reached the house, Kakashi laid the sleeping genin on the futon and turned towards the trio standing in the doorway.

"We'll let him rest for today, since it was Naruto and Sakura's turn to guard today, one of you will have to come with us again today, while the other stays here," Kakashi said.

After a moment, Kagome replied, "I'll go, Sasuke can look after Naruto."

Kakashi eyed her, making sure she wouldn't start a fight with Sakura, then nodded, "Alright, Sasuke, you stay here. Sakura, Kagome, let's go. Tazuna-san is waiting for us at the door."

"Hn." Sasuke discreetly nodded to Kagome, he was glad he didn't have to be alone with Sakura. Kagome tipped her head; jaw still clenched at Sakura's previous comment.

The two girls nodded once to Kakashi and walked down the steps to the door, Kakashi nodded to Sasuke before he followed them out.

~o0o~

When they arrived at the bridge, the group immediately knew something was wrong. Tazuna's workers were lying at the beginning of the bridge.

"They're alive, just unconscious," Kagome said as she quickly checked for their pulses.

A mist enveloped the bridge, obscuring their view.

Kakashi nodded, "Sakura, guard Tazuna, do not leave him."

Sakura nodded, "Understood, Sensei."

"Sharingan Kakashi, we meet again," A voice came out of the mist.

Kagome stood up, her hand going to her bracelet once again, she took out her sword, charging the sheath, like she had done in the previous fight, she ran over to Sakura and stuck it in to the ground once more. A blue barrier flashed in to place and disappeared.

"Don't touch it, or you  **will**  be hurt," Kagome warned, her gaze deadly serious.

Sakura nodded.

Just then, something whizzed passed her face and collided with the barrier, making the blue visible for a second before it disappeared once more, the small object, a senbon, clattered to the ground by Kagome's feet.

Kagome turned towards Zabuza, her eyes watching a figure that was standing behind him, "Now, now, Hunter-san, did you really think my barrier would be so weak as to fall to a mere senbon?"

Zabuza smirked, "Haku, I think you may have someone to play with."

"As you wish Zabuza-sama," The masked nin replied before he flew towards Kagome, who blocked his senbon with a kunai that was in her left hand. Her right hand, the one that held her sword, swiped downwards toward the other ninja's leg, but he pulled back.

Kagome pressed her advantage, pushing him back, swiping with her sword, but he held her off with senbon in both hands. Kagome narrowed her eyes, and pressed chakra through her sword and kunai, hoping to break the supposedly flimsy needles. However, Haku had the height advantage, he pressed down, making her bend her knees slightly, then flipped behind her.

Kagome shot forward and turned, but not before getting a senbon to the arm; thankfully it hadn't hit any vital areas.

A Zabuza clone joined them, but Kagome quickly swiped her sword through the clone's stomach, making it turn in to water that splashed on to the bridge.

Haku, stomped his foot in to the puddle, making the water splash and quickly did one-handed handseals, while he fought off Kagome with the other hand. Kagome tried to stop the handseals from forming by striking quicker, but each time she sped up, the other simply matched her speed.

Finally, Haku brought his hand down, and huge ice-like mirrors erupted all around Kagome.

"Ice Prison Jutsu."

Kagome's eyes widened, and she tried to quickly get out of the mirrored dome, but was soon encased in the center.

"No one has ever escaped from my Ice-prison jutsu," Haku spoke, "Give up now."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Correction, no one that you have encountered has escaped from your jutsu." She brought up her sword and swung it at the mirror. It clanged, but not even a dent appeared.

A senbon came towards her back, but she deflected it. Soon senbon started raining down upon her. She dodged and tried to deflect the senbon, but some still got through, landing on her arms and legs. Kagome made a few handseals, while dodging the numerous senbon sent her way.

She slammed her hands on the ground and a blue barrier came over her, just in time to deflect the multiple senbon that would have embedded in her skin a moment later.

She watched as Haku flitted from mirror to mirror, there had to be someway to get him out of there. She briefly considered using her own Sharingan that she gained through the Koryoku, but dismissed it. She didn't have an excuse if Kakashi found out. She turned to the nearest mirror, behind her. She jumped back a few spaces, readying her sword, she slashed it downwards, diagonally, "Kokurai!"

Black lightning struck the mirror in front of her, as well as the one on top of it, causing a huge crack to appear on them both, making the ice dome shudder, before the first mirror shattered, the second mirror following it, slowly the whole dome shattered around her, mirror by mirror.

Haku swiftly left the mirror as he watched his ice dome fall to pieces around the girl.

Kagome smirked, "Well, I guess you can now say that no one has ever escaped your ice prison except one." With that she flew towards the shocked ninja, her sword in her hand, but he dodged at the last minute, back flipping at the last second, but Kagome didn't let him gather his bearings, as she pressed forward.

She used her sword and cracked his mask. Her eyes widened, "You're that guy from the forest!"

"Indeed, but I shall win, for Zabuza-sama," He said as he pressed back with his senbon in his hands once again. He dodged to the side as a kunai whizzed past him. Kagome dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, leaping to her feet once again.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing that thing!" Kagome shouted, even as her lips stretched in to a grin as she glanced at Naruto and Sasuke behind her.

"Sorry, we're late, had to take care of a few thugs that were after the family. The hero always comes late anyways!" Naruto shouted back.

"Dobe, stop it, you're embarrassing," Sasuke said, a smirk on his lips.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about Tazuna-san, the barrier's still up. You may want to go help Kakashi, but I think he's got it."

"Do not underestimate me," Haku replied, he quickly flew through handseals, "Ice Needle Barrage!"

Kagome dodged the multiple needles headed her way, but Haku ran towards her and their weapons clashed once more.

Kagome flipped over him, she slipped her sword back in to its bracelet form and formed handseals of her own while dodging the senbon thrown her way.

"Light Ribbon Jutsu!" Kagome called as three glowing white ribbons flew towards Haku.

He threw senbon in order to stop the jutsu, but they simply went through it, he kept back flipping but Sasuke and Naruto appeared on either side of the retreating ninja, before Haku could jump up, the ribbons enveloped him. Wrapping around him tightly, they burned him as he struggled in their tight hold. One ribbon was wrapped around his throat; the second ribbon was wrapped around his torso, though it was low enough to restrict his arm movements, so he couldn't form any two-handed seals. The last one was wrapped around his ankles, making the ninja, who was in mid-jump, fall over.

"Don't struggle, otherwise they'll burn you," Kagome said.

"I have failed Zabuza-sama, end it," Haku said, looking at Kagome.

"But why?" Naruto burst out, recognizing the person that he had almost made friends with in the forest.

"I have failed my precious person, Naruto-kun, I have no other reason to live."

"I understand," Kagome spoke before Naruto could, Haku did not have a purpose, and so, if she let him go, he may waste away, in a way, this was a form of mercy.

Just then they heard what sounded like many birds chirping.

They looked up to see Kakashi, holding what looked like lightning in his hand, moving swiftly towards Zabuza, who was pinned down by Kakashi's summons.

Kagome looked down, her sword once again in her hand, "Haku-san?"

Haku's eyes were fixed on the sight of his beloved master. He looked up to Kagome, "I'm sorry, it seems I have one final use."

With that, he flickered in front of Zabuza, still bound, taking the lightning in his chest.

Kagome and Naruto gasped as Haku was pierced.

Kakashi's eyes widened as his hand pierced the small body of the boy instead of Zabuza.

Zabuza, unfazed, swung his sword down to slice through both Kakashi and Haku, but Kakashi jumped away, taking Haku with him. He laid Haku on the ground, before moving to resume his fight with Zabuza.

"It seems that you truly cannot predict the future, you have predicted my death twice, and each time, it has been stopped," Zabuza said.

"HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?" Naruto screamed, finally loosing to his rage, "HE DIED FOR YOU!"

"Naruto, stay out of it," Kakashi ordered.

"But-"

"No, Naruto." Kakashi said, in his no nonsense voice.

"Foolish boy, he was only a weapon," Zabuza said, before he once more leaped towards Kakashi, his giant sword coming down in an arc.

Kakashi dodged and stabbed a kunai in to Zabuza's left arm, making said arm useless.

Zabuza grunted, but didn't acknowledge the pain in any other way. He continued on pushing Kakashi back, but now Kakashi had the advantage. He used the advantage to press forward, pushing Zabuza back, their weapons clashed, kunai against sword, until Kakashi pulled out his other kunai and stabbed Zabuza's remaining arm, blood spurted out as Zabuza was forced to let go, and his sword went flying, landing on the ground a few feet away.

"You're done for Zabuza," Kakashi said as he readied his Chidori once more.

"Well, well, well, Demon of the Mist, eh? More like a baby demon," A voice mocked from the beginning of the bridge.

The ninjas all looked towards where the voice came from, the mist cleared to see a short, fat man standing in front of what looked like fifty thugs.

"Gato, what are you doing here?" Zabuza growled as Kakashi let his barely formed Chidori die out.

"Well you see, I was never planning on paying you, it's good that you're almost half-dead. It's expensive paying ninjas from villages so I use missing nin, no one cares if they're dead in the end. And I see that the brat is dead," Gato said as he walked over to the pale corpse of Haku and kicked him a few times, "I never liked you, break my arm will you?"

"ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET HIM DO THAT?" Naruto shouted, enraged.

"He gave his life for you! He considered you his most precious person! He was about to die, but he held off, because he sensed that YOU were in danger! Are you just going to let that bastard treat Haku like that?" Naruto continued, "Haku had no other purpose but to help you! And you-"

"Shut UP!" Zabuza yelled, and the leaf ninja were surprised to see that there were tears in his eyes, "It seems, that I no longer have to fight you, Kakashi. Could you throw me a kunai?"

Kakashi nodded and threw his own kunai, which Zabuza caught with his mouth.

He charged towards Gato, Gato seeing this, screamed, "KILL HIM!"

The crowd charged, but Zabuza continued on, weaving through the crowd of thugs, stabbing as many of them as he could, even without the use of his arms, he managed to take out almost half of the thugs, even as spears, swords, and other weapons were thrust in to his back, but he finally emerged on the other side to where Gato stood.

"Unfortunately, I won't be going to where Haku is, but since I'm going to Hell, I'm taking you with me!" Zabuza said.

"I-I w-was just kidding, I'll give you money! Just don't kill me!" Gato pleaded, the sight of Zabuza covered in blood with all sorts of weapons sticking out of his back and a bloodthirsty grin on his face made him truly look like a demon.

Zabuza grinned wider, his blood-shot eyes locking with Gato's, before he lunged and stabbed the kunai through Gato's neck. Blood sprayed out from Gato's body, bathing Zabuza's face in the crimson liquid.

Silence fell around them as the thugs watched their boss die.

"Kakashi," Zabuza called weakly as he lost blood and his eyes closed, but his ragged breaths announced that he was still alive.

Kakashi walked over to the downed shinobi, "I'm here."

"Could you lay me next to Haku? I'd like to say goodbye, one last time," Zabuza said, his ragged breathing getting shallower with each breath as he forced his eyes open. Kakashi bent down and held Zabuza to him as he walked the large man over to his student and laid him down gently.

Zabuza took one of Haku's hands in to his own and his eyes closed, his breathing finally ceasing as he passed on. A tear slipped down Haku's cheek one last time.

"Who's going to pay us now?" One of the thugs roared, breaking the moment as the others all realized that now that Gato was dead, there was no one to pay them.

"We'll ravage the village! And if they have anything, we'll take it all!" One of the others shouted, many shouted in agreement as they advanced forward.

"I don't think so!" A voice said, before anyone else could speak.

They all turned to see a huge crowd of people holding pitchforks and other gardening tools, with Inari leading them and blocking the way to the village.

"Inari?" Kagome asked.

Inari grinned, "The hero always arrives late!"

"You know, since we technically didn't do anything, I'm prepared to fight," Naruto said, cracking his knuckles, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Twenty Naruto's popped out of the smoke.

"Hn, Dobe," Sasuke said as he got out a kunai and twisted in to his fighting stance.

"I'm not that tired, either," Kagome said, lying through her teeth. She was exhausted while using a high-level jutsu, she also used the Kokurai, plus all the senbon still stuck in her body, and she was aching all over. Sesshoumaru was right, she was weak.

"I think I can also manage a few Shadow Clones," Kakashi said, putting his hands in a seal and three other Kakashi's also popped up.

Some of the thugs gulped, seeing the numbers they'd be facing.

"I'm outta here!" One of the thugs said, causing all the others to follow.

The villagers cheered as all the thugs cleared out.

Kagome grinned, then remembered her barrier, she ran over to Tazuna and Sakura, before either of them could get hurt, and pulled the sheath out of the ground, "There we go."

She sheathed her sword and, using her miko ki, shrunk her sword and put it away.

"Will you be staying until the bridge is complete?" Tazuna asked once everyone had calmed down and started walking back towards their homes.

Kakashi looked at his students, "It's your choice."

"I want to stay," Naruto grinned.

Kagome smiled, "I think I'd like to see the completion of the thing that we were all fighting for. It'd be a waste to leave now."

"Hn. We should stay," Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded, right after her idol, "We should stay!"

~o0o~

"Alright, Sasuke, Naruto, I need to know what happened after we left," Kakashi said as Team Seven sat in the living room after the battle, tending to their wounds.

"Well, after I woke up, the Teme wouldn't let me leave to get to you guys," Naruto said.

"Dobe, you had chakra exhaustion, you could have collapsed," Sasuke said.

Naruto ignored him, "So we argued, but then we heard some noise coming from the kitchen."

"So naturally, the idiot ran to the rescue," Sasuke said.

"And I saved Tsunami-san and Inari from Gato's men," Naruto spoke, glaring at Sasuke.

"That's when I figured out that today was the day that Zabuza attacked," Sasuke spoke, glaring back at Naruto.

"So we left, but I left behind a couple of clones in case Gato's men tried anything else. Then, as we were nearing the bridge, we ran in to your clone, Sensei, and you know what happened after that," Naruto finished.

Kagome watched the two boys in amusement as they glared at each other, she couldn't help herself, "You two just can't take your eyes off each other, can you?"

The two boys turned their glare on a grinning Kagome.

Naruto poked Kagome on the arm.

"Ouch! Stop that! In case you hadn't noticed, while you two were arguing, I was becoming a pin cushion!" Kagome snapped, as a sharp pain raced through her arm. She had yet to get all the senbon out, so she couldn't start healing until all of them were out.

"You should've been more careful," Sasuke said indifferently.

Kagome turned her head to face Sasuke, a deadly glare on her face, "Excuse me?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Kagome, there are still a few senbon left, take them out and start healing; Sasuke stop antagonizing her," Kakashi spoke from where he was tending to his own wounds.

~o0o~

Team Seven along with Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari had come to see the end of the construction as well as see Team Seven off.

"Wow, the bridge looks amazing!" Kagome said, as she looked at the bridge stretched out across the sea.

"It is AWESOME!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Now we just need a name for the bridge," Tazuna said.

"What about the Kaiza Bridge," Naruto suggested, "In honor of him?"

"How about the Freedom Bridge, this bridge connects you to the mainland, freeing you from Gato," Sakura suggested.

"How about The Hero's Bridge?" Kagome suggested, "For all the souls that fought and lost to build this bridge, in honor of them."

Tazuna nodded, "Hm, all good choices. But, I think The Hero's Bridge is a fitting name."

"You'll come visit, right?" Inari asked as they turned to leave.

"Yeah! You know, if you want to cry you can, it's okay," Naruto said, his voice wavering.

"I'm not crying! But you can if you want to!" Inari said. They both turned away from each other to hide their crying faces.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Boys," she grumbled, then in a louder voice said, "Just hug already!"

"We're not girls!" Naruto and Inari both shouted.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Could've fooled me."

"Come on, everyone, time to go," Kakashi said eye-smiling.

Team Seven said their final goodbyes and left.

~o0o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! So, all my fics are now updated, they are both the same on here and FFN. I'm not too thrilled with the last chapter, so I may go back and edit it, if I do, I'll let you guys know. Itachi will be making an appearance in 2-3 chapters, depending on how long the chapters are.


	19. The Guardian of the Crystal

"Talking"

'Thinking'

' _Hand Signs'_

" _Mind Speak"_

" **Kyuubi Talking"**

' **Kyuubi Thinking'**

" _ **Inner Sakura"**_

**Last Time:**

Tazuna nodded, "Hm, all good choices. But, I think The Hero's Bridge is a fitting name."

"You'll come visit, right?" Inari asked as they turned to leave.

"Yeah! You know, if you want to cry you can, it's okay," Naruto said, his voice wavering.

"I'm not crying! But you can if you want to!" Inari said. They both turned away from each other to hide their crying faces.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Boys," she grumbled, then in a louder voice said, "Just hug already!"

"We're not girls!" Naruto and Inari both shouted.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Could've fooled me."

"Come on, everyone, time to go," Kakashi said eye-smiling.

Team Seven said their final goodbyes and left.

**Now:**

Kagome flopped down on to the couch, "How do you have so much energy?"

Naruto grinned as he went in to his room to unpack, leaving Kagome without an answer.

Kakashi-sensei had had them all run the last 7 miles to Konoha at full-speed non-stop. While Kagome didn't tire out that easily, 7 miles was a lot, she had slowed down after 4 and jogged the rest. Even Sasuke had had to slow down, lest he collapse. Sakura hadn't even been able to run the two miles – which had made Sensei leave behind a shadow clone to make sure she didn't get lost or in trouble – whereas, Naruto and Kaka-sensei had ran all 7 miles and even made it in to a race, which Kaka-sensei won.

A rush of pity went through Kagome for Sakura, but it left as soon as it came. Sakura had only herself to blame. Instead of training, she spent her time stalking a boy, who had no interest in her, and looking pretty.

Kagome rolled her eyes and got up, she had unpacking to do, her day of relaxing could be postponed for a few minutes.

~o0o~

"Yo!"

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted.

"Well, you see, I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi explained, as he saw Kagome start to open her mouth, he quickly continued on, "Alright, for training today, Sakura, you need to build up your stamina and chakra. So you will be doing tree-walking exercises and after you run out of chakra, you are to run laps until you can't."

Sakura nodded.

"Naruto, while you did learn the tree-walking exercise, you are still using too much chakra. Kagome, you still have trouble keeping your chakra and holy energy apart, so you two will spar, after one of you wins, no ties, you will both be doing the tree-walking exercise until you are out of chakra and after that, you are to run laps."

Kagome and Naruto nodded.

"Sasuke, you haven't awakened the Sharingan, yet, so we are going to do that. You will be fighting me," Kakashi spoke.

Sasuke nodded.

"Wait, don't you mean sparring?" Kagome asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled, "No. I mean fighting."

Sasuke paled, "But you're a Jōnin."

Kakashi's eye-smile didn't waver, "Correction, I'm an Elite Jōnin. Now, get to training."

Kagome winced sympathetically and led Naruto to another part of the clearing for their spar.

"I feel bad for teme," Naruto commented.

Kagome cocked her head curiously, "Really? I thought you'd be jealous that he got the attention."

Naruto chuckled, "So did I, but as long as Kaka-sensei doesn't totally ignore us and not train us at all, I think it's fine. Plus, Teme needs the Sharingan."

Kagome nodded. She stopped and turned to face Naruto, "Ready?"

"Yeah, but one thing," Naruto said, Kagome raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You can't use your sword," Naruto said.

Kagome pouted, "Fine, I won't use *Raimei."

"Good. Get ready to get your ass kicked!"

"Oh, you are so on!" Kagome said, "Loser pays for our next lunch!"

Naruto smirked, "Fine."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, starting out with his signature technique.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kagome said, "You forget Naruto, I was there when you learned this."

"ATTACK!" Naruto shouted as all of his clones rushed forward.

All the Kagome clones jumped back and shouted, "Light Ribbon Jutsu!"

Bands of white raced towards all the oncoming clones. The bands wrapped around the clones, as they squeezed and burned, the trapped clones popped out. Leaving the Kagome clones to overwhelm the left over Naruto clones and the original. Naruto brought out a kunai, and swiped at the clone next to him, making it go up in a poof of smoke.

~o0o~

Sasuke dodged at the last second, making the Jōnin's fist fly passed his head. He ducked under the arm and jumped back, quickly making hand seals.

"Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The giant ball of flames enveloped the Jōnin, Sasuke looked on in astonishment as the flames disappeared, but all he saw were ashes, he narrowed his eyes and jumped back, where was he?

He felt a hand by his ankle, and immediately jumped away, "Kaka-"

But he was cut off as Kakashi rose from the ground, the eye-smile had vanished, "Sasuke Uchiha, by order of the Sandaime Hokage, you are to be eliminated as a threat to Konoha," he stated in an emotionless voice.

Sasuke's eyes widened, "I'm no-"

He was cut off as a kunai sailed passed him, cutting his cheek as he moved to avoid it. He dodged as kunai rained down on him; he kept dodging, getting pushed back in the cover of the trees. He hid behind one tree, looking out from behind it.

Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. He panted, 'What the hell is happening? Kakashi-sensei wouldn't try to kill me, right? I'm his student.'

A shudder went through him as Kakashi's voice spoke in his head, 'Sasuke Uchiha, by order of the Sandaime Hokage…'

Why would the Hokage want him killed? He hadn't done anything.

Kakashi landed in front of him, a kunai slashed close to his throat but Sasuke ducked, a few hairs landed in front of him, but he didn't think of them and ran from the assassin behind him.

Shuriken hurtled behind him, he ran towards a tree and, using the tree-walking exercise, ran up it, making the shuriken hit the bark.

He looked down and saw Kakashi coming up the tree, he swiftly jumped down the other way, and Kakashi landed in front of him not even a second later.

Kakashi ran around Sasuke in a circle, throwing kunai and shuriken at him. Sasuke moved as best as he could, but he was limited in the circle Kakashi had created. Sasuke knocked as many kunai and shuriken as he could with his own and dodged the others, but many left gashes on his arms and legs, leaving behind torn and bloodied clothing.

The kunai started flying faster and Sasuke struggled to keep up, he couldn't even see more than a blur of Kakashi and the weapons being thrown at him were not helping. He was going to die.

Suddenly, everything slowed down; he could clearly see all the kunai and shuriken coming at him, as well as Kakashi. He redoubled his efforts, pushing his arms to move faster.

~o0o~

Sakura panted as the last of her chakra escaped her and she collapsed on the grass, not caring about the grass stains she was sure to get on her dress. She rolled over and groaned; she was so tired.

" _ **Cha! We have to do better for Sasuke-kun!"**_

Sakura silently agreed with Inner Sakura, but maybe after a nap…

~o0o~

Naruto and Kagome panted as they each stared the other down. Neither would give up.

Kagome was covered in bleeding gashes that were still healing, whereas Naruto's had already healed, but he was left with torn-up clothing.

"Wind Sword Jutsu!" Naruto called.

Kagome quickly made handseals, "Phoenix Flower Jutsu," and spat out five small fireballs that collided with the swords, making the fireballs bigger and heading towards Naruto at a faster pace.

Naruto dodged the flaming balls, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five Naruto's appeared and charged at Kagome. Kagome ran towards the clones and dodging their many strikes, slashed them with a kunai; Kagome stood still, the smoke from the clones covering her form and the hand seals she was making.

"Water Dragon Jutsu!" A great dragon made of water made the smoke dissipate and headed straight for Naruto.

"Holy SHIT!" Naruto yelled as he saw the big dragon, though it was nowhere near as big as Kakashi-sensei's, it was still very powerful.

Even as Naruto jumped out of the way, the dragon headed straight for the ground where Naruto had been, and crashed headfirst in to the grass, making water splash everywhere.

"Discharge Lightning Jutsu!" Kagome called, slamming her fist in to the water soaked ground. Lightning chakra, released from her hand, ran along the water towards Naruto, who flipped backwards towards a tree behind the first line of trees and ran up, landing on a branch that wasn't soaked in water.

The lightning dissipated as it collided in to a tree in front of Naruto, making a small explosion and completely destroying it. Naruto hopped down from the tree he was in, "Whirlwind Jutsu!"

A small whirlwind formed as Naruto blew air out of his mouth and grew as Naruto gave it more chakra, then released it so that it landed on the ground, heading straight for Kagome. Kagome jumped back and took cover behind a tree; the whirlwind hit the tree, shredding it completely. Kagome jumped out from behind the remains and went behind another tree that was out of the way. The whirlwind followed its path of destruction, obliterating two more trees, before dissipating.

Kagome made a shadow clone and sent it out.

"Is that it?" the Kagome clone taunted. Immediately, Naruto rushed towards the clone and they were engaged in a Taijutsu fight. Naruto threw a punch, which was caught by Kagome. Kagome used her free arm to punch Naruto, but was blocked. She twisted and brought her leg up to kick Naruto in the stomach, but he broke away just as her foot would have connected, making Kagome spin on her toes to keep her balance.

Naruto took out a kunai and held it to Kagome's neck.

"Ha! I win."

Kagome smirked as another Kagome appeared behind Naruto and held a kunai to his throat.

"You were saying, Naruto," Kagome said smugly.

"I give," Naruto sighed.

Kagome smirked and stepped back.

Naruto cursed and stabbed the Kagome in front of him, making her go up in a poof of smoke.

"You copied Kaka-sensei!" Naruto accused.

"Indeed, you did," Kakashi said, stepping out from behind the shadow of the trees.

Kagome and Naruto raised their eyebrows, "Weren't you training Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"I'm a shadow clone," the apparently Kakashi-clone said, "Now, chakra exercises, I need to go check on Sakura. We'll talk later about those jutsu."

Kagome and Naruto both nodded and they each chose a tree.

"By the way, Naruto, you owe me lunch."

Naruto groaned.

~o0o~

The Kakashi clone blinked at the sleeping Sakura and sighed.

"Sakura…Sakura!" Kakashi walked over to the prone form and lightly toed her side, "Sakura! Wake up!" he ordered.

Sakura jerked awake, she looked around blearily for what woke her from her dream, only to see Kakashi's face.

"KYA! Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, "I'm so sorry! I was just so tired, that I sat down and-"

Kakashi held up a hand, halting her ramblings, "Sakura, why do you want to be a kunoichi?"

Sakura blinked, "So I can be with Sasuke-kun of course! We'll be together, we'll get married and have children-"

Sakura blinked as Kakashi-sensei vanished in a poof of smoke.

~o0o~

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would," Kakashi's voice rang out as the kunai and shuriken were stopped and he appeared in front of Sasuke.

"W-what?!" Sasuke spluttered, "You tried to kill me!"

Kakashi chuckled, "If I was going to kill you, Sasuke, you'd already be dead."

Sasuke blinked, "But you said the Hokage wanted me killed!"

Kakashi sighed and walked closer to the shaken genin, he gave a reassuring eye-smile, "The only way to activate a user's Sharingan, is to make the user think that they are about to die, the bloodline activates under high pressure, usually of the fatal kind. Apparently, I'm scarier than I thought I was," he sounded smug as he said the last line.

Sasuke scowled, glad that no one was there to witness his embarrassing moment of panic.

"Now that your Sharingan is activated, you must train your body to move as quickly as you can see. After all, if you cannot dodge the attack, then what use is the knowledge that it is coming?"

Sasuke nodded.

"All right, let me just disperse my clone," Kakashi murmured as he made a hand seal and memories rushed in to his head.

Kakashi shook his head as he found out that Sakura had been sleeping.

"For now, I'm going to drop you off to the hospital," Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded, and started walking towards the hospital's direction. Kakashi walked up beside him and picked him up bridal style.

"I can walk!" Sasuke grumbled, although he was secretly glad that he no longer had to walk, he was so very tired, and walking just exhausted him more. He was sure he'd lost a lot of blood.

"Yes, of course you can, but my way is faster," as soon as Kakashi finished talking, they vanished in a swirl of leaves and appeared inside the Konoha hospital.

After he left Sasuke with a nurse, he vanished once more and appeared in the clearing Sakura was running in.

"Sakura, you can go home," Kakashi said to the startled girl.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, I'm really sorry," Sakura said, looking at the ground, ashamed of herself.

Kakashi nodded, "It's okay, Sakura. You were tired, but that is not an excuse, it will not happen again, correct?"

Sakura nodded.

"Tomorrow we will meet at the bridge, 7 am. Dismissed."

Sakura nodded and walked off towards her home.

Kakashi sighed and walked to where Kagome and Naruto were; he'd have to find out a way to deal with Sakura, for now, he had to deal with his two other students, who apparently knew A-rank jutsu.

He walked in to the clearing that Naruto and Kagome were practicing and saw that they were both walking up and down the tree trunks.

"Naruto! Kagome! Come down," Kakashi called.

They both jumped down from the trees and stood in front of their Sensei. Kakashi sat down on the grass and waited for the other two to sit opposite him.

"Firstly, Kagome, congratulations on winning the spar," Kakashi said.

Kagome beamed, "Thank you!"

"Naruto, good job as well, that was a difficult spar and you almost won," Kakashi said to Naruto, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now, how did you learn those jutsu you were using during your spar?" he asked.

"Scrolls we bought some and some we looked at from the library," Naruto explained.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Those are C-rank or above jutsu, especially the water dragon and the whirlwind jutsu, not to mention the lightning jutsu, which are all A-rank, and they are only available to the Chūnin and Jōnin in the library."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Iruka-sensei took us."

"You henged in to Iruka and got passed the guards that way, didn't you?" Kakashi translated.

Kagome and Naruto both gave him innocent looks.

Kakashi shook his head, "Don't do it again, can I assume from those jutsu that you used, you know your elemental affinities?"

Kagome nodded, "My primary element is lightning and secondary is water. Although, I developed fire as a third element from my continued use of it."

"Mine is wind then water," Naruto said.

Kakashi nodded, "Did you both go through the exercises to start using your elemental chakra?"

Naruto and Kagome nodded, "Yeah, but we haven't gotten much progress, I'm still trying to cut my leaf all the way through and Kagome's still trying to make hers crinkle up as well."

"Show me."

They both grabbed a leaf and Naruto went first, he focused on his leaf, a cut started to appear on the leaf, but stopped halfway through. Kagome laid hers on the palm of her hand and concentrated on making the leaf crinkle up. It started to get a bit wavy at the beginning before it stopped a little further than the middle.

Kakashi took the leaves and examined them.

"To be fair, we only started a few weeks ago," Kagome explained, "Although we do use jutsu that complement our elemental affinities, we wanted to wait until we graduated to actually start practicing the use of our elemental chakra."

"This is very impressive, this took you two months?"

"We weren't practicing during the Waves mission. So about a month and a week," Naruto said.

"Very impressive, it usually takes about four months for ninja, usually Chūnin, to get to where you are," Kakashi explained, "Elemental affinities are mostly for Chūnin. The fact that you two are this far in and know your secondary element is very impressive."

"What is your elemental affinity, Sensei?" Kagome asked.

"I have lightning as my primary and earth as my secondary," Kakashi said, "I also built up an affinity for water and fire."

"Wow, you have an affinity for four out of the five elements?" Naruto asked, impressed.

Kakashi nodded, "All right, well, it's already late, so you two can go home, we'll meet tomorrow at our usual bridge at 7 am. Sasuke and Sakura have already been dismissed."

Naruto and Kagome stood; they bid their Sensei good-bye, who vanished in a swirl of leaves a moment later.

~o0o~

Kakashi appeared in front of the Chūnin that was on duty.

"Hello, Iruka-san," Kakashi greeted.

Iruka gave the masked nin a warm smile, "Kakashi-san, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak with the Hokage."

Iruka nodded, "One moment," he pressed his fingers to a seal carved in to the desk and passed chakra through it.

"Hokage-sama, Hatake Kakashi would like to see you," Iruka spoke.

The seal buzzed twice and Iruka nodded for Kakashi to go in.

Kakashi nodded a good-bye to Iruka and walked passed him down the hall. He knocked on the double doors.

"Come in," the Hokage's voice came.

"Kakashi, what can I do for you?" The Hokage asked once Kakashi had closed the door.

"Hokage-sama, I have a request for Sakura Haruno to be placed on rotation," Kakashi said seriously.

~o0o~

"Yo!" Kakashi said, as he appeared in his usual swirl of leaves.

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted.

"Well, you see I-" Kakashi started, but was cut off by Kagome.

"Let me guess, did you crash in to destiny and then have to take him to the hospital?" Kagome said sarcastically.

Kakashi smirked, ignoring the sarcasm, "Why yes, yes I did."

In fact, Destiny was a man with a scar on his nose and a ponytail. Who knew destiny was so cute?

"Sakura, the Hokage needs to see you," Kakashi said, "You are to go immediately."

Sakura nodded she left the bridge and her teammates, running to get to the Hokage Tower faster.

"Why does Sakura need to go see Jiji?" Naruto asked.

"Because she is being put on rotation," Kakashi said, at their confused expressions, he elaborated, "Usually when there is an odd number of graduates that aren't divisible by three, one team gets four genin. However, if the instructor notices that a genin is…not ready for certain things, those genin get put on rotation, so that they can help other genin teams in case they are short a member."

"So, Sakura is no longer on Team 7?" Kagome asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, although, if one of you guys, supposedly, got sick or could not do a mission, Sakura would be available to fill in."

"Does this happen often?" Sasuke asked curiously.

Kakashi shook his head, "It isn't common, but it isn't rare, either. Usually teams of four don't get passed by Jōnin, as they are impractical and they don't work together anyways, it's just a formality, but like with you all, some do pass. Sometimes, there is no need to have a member put on rotation, but other times, it is necessary."

"So if we had three members from the beginning…" Kagome trailed off.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, then Sakura would have had to stay. You can have a team with more than three genin, but you cannot have less than three. Although, you can have an apprenticeship with a student that is very talented, but that limits the missions that you can go on."

"All right, enough about that, I thought that since Naruto and Kagome already knew their elemental affinities, we would see what yours is, Sasuke," Kakashi said after a moment.

Sasuke looked surprised, "You do?"

Kagome shrugged, "I think you were off training when we got the chance to do it and then it never came up again."

"Well, that's why Kagome never said anything," Naruto smirked.

Sasuke scowled, "So how do we do this?"

Kakashi brought out a blue piece of paper, and handed it to Sasuke, "If it crinkles up, you have lightning; if it turns to ashes, then you have fire; wind if the paper breaks in half; if the paper crumbles, then it's earth; and water if the paper gets damp."

"Wait!" Kagome said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

She turned to Naruto, "Care to make a bet?"

Naruto grinned, "Fine. 500 yen?"

"Deal, I think it's going to be fire."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, sizing him up, "I think it'll be lightning. Kaka-sensei, care to make a wager?"

Kakashi shook his head, amused, "What kind of example would I be setting if I made a bet with my students?"

Kagome snorted, "Please, with you coming late all the time, combined with that porn you read, your example is already shot."

Kakashi mock-scowled, " _Icha Icha_  is not porn. Even so, I don't think I will."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever you say. Sasuke, would you do the honors?"

Sasuke shook his head in exasperation, he channeled chakra in to the paper and it crinkled up. Kagome stared as Naruto whooped.

"500 yen! Cough it up, Kags!" Naruto shouted in glee.

Kagome sighed, "Yeah, yeah, here."

She took out the correct amount and placed it in Naruto's hand.

"So what next?" Sasuke asked.

"Channel your chakra once again in to the paper, we can see if you have a secondary affinity that way," Kakashi said.

Sasuke once more channeled his chakra in to the crinkled up paper and it turned to ashes.

"Fire. Now, one more time," Kakashi said.

Sasuke once more channeled his chakra but nothing happened.

"Well, you have a primary element, which is lightning, and a secondary element, which is fire," Kakashi said.

"What next?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's get to Training Ground 3, then I'll have Kagome explain what to do next," Kakashi said, he brought up his hands to vanish in his usual way, when Kagome and Naruto grabbed on to his arms.

He looked towards them questioningly.

Naruto grinned mischievously, "Why don't you walk with us Sensei?"

"Yes, this way you won't have another crash with Destiny," Kagome suggested.

Kakashi gave an exaggerated sigh, "If I must."

Kagome and Naruto grinned, dragging their Sensei towards their training grounds with Sasuke behind them, getting many amused glances from the people around them, as well as a few laughs from passing shinobi.

They made it to Training Ground 3 and Kagome and Naruto finally let their Sensei's arms go.

Kakashi mock-scowled and shook his arms out, "Finally!"

Kagome and Naruto laughed, even Sasuke had a smirk on his face.

~o0o~

"Tomorrow, we will be doing D-ranks and this time you can _not_ fail or just barely pass them," Kakashi said.

"Why not?" Kagome asked.

"Because you need a total of 10 D-ranks that you have passed  _acceptably_ , otherwise you seem incompetent," Kakashi said, "We'll see each other at 7 am at our usual bridge."

He vanished in a whirl of leaves.

Naruto shook his head incredulously, "We did an A-rank and Kagome and I did another A-rank mission before this! We are not incompetent!"

Kagome shook her head, "Oh! Sasuke, I forgot to ask, did you awaken your Sharingan?"

Sasuke nodded and turned on his Sharingan, showing Naruto and Kagome his red eyes with black comas.

"Wicked!" Naruto said.

Kagome nodded, "Congrats, how did it go?"

"Hn."

~o0o~

"Yo!"

"You're late!" Naruto shouted.

"Well, you see, this cute little girl needed me to get her cat out of the tree and I couldn't say no," Kakashi said.

"Really? What type of cat was it?" Naruto said, "Because unless it was a tiger, or Tora, it wouldn't take an  _Elite Jōnin_ three hours to get a stupid cat out of a tree."

"Really? You too? Isn't it enough that Kagome always ruins my excuses, now you're doing it, too?" Kakashi asked in disbelief, he then noticed something, or rather a lack of someone.

"Where's Kagome?" Kakashi asked.

"She ran back to get a scroll or something," Naruto explained, "She said in case you came before she did, I could ruin your excuse this time, she would've let Sasuke do it, but he was annoying her with his one word answers."

Kakashi shook his head, just as he was about to say something, he saw Kagome running towards them.

"Nice of you to join us," Kakashi said.

"Sorry, I would've been here sooner, but I got lost on the road of life," Kagome said an innocent smile forming on her lips.

Kakashi scowled, "That is plagiarism. Get your own excuses."

"Hn, what are we doing today?" Sasuke spoke up. He didn't want to delay any training.

"We have 10 D-ranks that we have to pass in three days," Kakashi said, "So, I took the liberty of going to the Hokage and getting a couple of D-ranks that you will each do individually. Usually, D-ranks are done by three genin or one chūnin, but we are on a tight schedule and I have complete faith in you. So, Kagome," Kakashi took out a folder and handed it to her, "You are babysitting a 2 year old Miaka. "

"I thought we were banned from babysitting?" Kagome asked confused, even as she accepted the file.

"I had to talk the Hokage in to it, so do  _not_  screw this up," Kakashi said, his voice serious. Kagome nodded.

"Details are in the file, we will meet at the Hokage Tower at 7 pm, off you go," Kakashi dismissed her. Kagome nodded and left at a run.

Kakashi turned back to the other two, "Sasuke, you have to catch Tora, here."

Kakashi handed over another file to Sasuke, who reluctantly took it, "7 pm, Hokage Tower. Off you go. Naruto," Kakashi said, turning to the last member of Team 7, "You have apple picking to do, here."

Naruto took the file, "That's not so hard."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "7 pm, Hokage Tower. Oh, and Naruto?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

"You are only allowed to make 10 shadow clones," Kakashi said before he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

~o0o~

"Hey baby girl," Kagome cooed as the little girl giggled.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Raya-san asked.

"Of course, Raya-san, your baby girl is safe with me, don't you worry about a thing," Kagome reassured the mother, "You go on and enjoy yourself."

"Alright, I'll see you at 7 pm," Raya-san said as she placed a kiss on the small girl's cheek and walked out.

"Come on, Mia, let's go play a game," Kagome said as the girl started to tear up at the sight of her mother leaving.

"Ma! Wah-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

~o0o~

"Here kitty," Sasuke said, trying to coax Tora out of the hole she had retreated to.

She hissed at him as his hand came closer to her, she took a swipe at the back of his hand, leaving behind blood.

Sasuke cursed.

~o0o~

"Holy crap!" Naruto said, as he gazed at the vast field of trees laid out before him. He was at the edge of town and now he wished he was the one chasing Tora.

"Well, then," Naruto said, putting his hands together, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

10 Naruto's appeared in front of him.

"Let's get to work!" Naruto shouted, starting at one of the hundreds of trees that were there.

~o0o~

Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke sat waiting at the Bridge for their Sensei to show up. The last three days had been hell. They had each gotten the worst missions possible: from demonic cats to unruly babies to picking apples from vast fields. Then there was filing paperwork for the academy, watching over more kids, and cherry picking, after that, there was weeding a massive garden, finding lost pets, painting a pool, and buying groceries for elderly women with too much on their damn lists.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted, appearing in his usual manner.

Groans were all he heard from his students.

"Well, you are all free to go! You have the day off," Kakashi said as he spotted a black messenger bird in the sky, "Bye!" he said before he vanished once more.

"I really hate that man sometimes," Naruto said picking himself up, then hauling Kagome to her feet as well.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he stood up and walked off.

"Let's go get some ramen," Kagome said, "I need some oden as well."

Naruto nodded and they both walked in to town.

~o0o~

Kakashi opened the double doors and walked in, "Sorry I'm late, I had to help an old lady with her groceries."

The Hokage waved his hand, "Take your place. The Chūnin Selection Exams will begin in one week. I will be announcing the beginning of the exams in five days. Now, for the team nominations: would any of the Rookie instructors like to nominate their team?"

Kakashi stepped forward, "I, Hatake, Kakashi, would like to nominate Team 7, comprised of Higurashi, Kagome, Uchiha, Sasuke, and Uzumaki, Naruto."

Asuma was the next to step up beside Kakashi, "I, Sarutobi, Asuma, would like to nominate Team 10, comprised of Akimichi, Choji, Nara, Shikamaru, and Yamanaka, Ino."

Kurenai stepped up next to Asuma, "I, Yuuhi, Kurenai, would like to nominate Team 8, comprised of Aburame, Shino, Hyuga, Hinata, and Inuzuka, Kiba."

~o0o~

"Naruto, why is there a square rock following us?" Kagome asked, not bothering to lower her voice.

Naruto sighed, "For the last time, Konohamaru! Rocks are not square, nor do they have eyes!"

"Yes they do!" Came a muffled voice from behind the two genin.

"Rocks don't talk, either," Naruto said, annoyed.

"Aw! You got me Boss!" Smoke filled the box and a lot of coughing was heard.

"The one who is the great seductress, Moegi!"

"The one who likes dividing numbers, Udon!"

"The one who is the village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"And together, we are… the KONOHAMURAU CORPS!" The three shouted together.

Kagome bit her lip so she wouldn't burst out laughing, but didn't manage to fully cover the smile on her face.

"Who are you?" Konohamaru asked.

"I'm Kagome, it's nice to meet you three," Kagome said smiling.

"It's nice to meet you too," Konohamaru replied, blushing slightly.

"Ah," Naruto said, deciding to interrupt, "Why are you all wearing goggles?"

"We are copying the old you, what happened to you?" Konohamaru asked, "You've been so cold to us lately! You promised to play ninja with us!"

"Did I?" Naruto asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, 'If I say yes, I'll be stuck with them all day!'

"Humph! What's the point of a ninja playing ninja," A voice came from behind Kagome.

Kagome and Naruto turned to see Sakura coming from up the street.

"Hey Sakura, how are you?" Kagome asked, Sakura looked like she'd just been rejected from Sasuke again. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Sakura since she had been put on rotation.

Sakura stared at Naruto, ignoring Kagome all together.

"What is it," Naruto asked, 'Why is she looking at me like that?'

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Kagome asked, cautiously taking a step towards her former teammate.

'Why is she staring so intently at the Boss?' Konohamaru thought, light bulb went off in his head, 'She must be!'

"Boss! You're better than I thought you were!" Konohamaru said, nudging the older boy in the side.

"Is she your…" Konohamaru brought up a hand, slowly lifting up his littlest finger.

"Ah, haha, um," Naruto said, but before he could say anymore a punch knocked Naruto back towards the fence.

"NO I'M NOT!" Sakura screeched.

"Hey! Why'd you do that to the Boss!? You-you UGLY FOREHEADED GIRL!" Konohamaru shouted angrily.

"Um, Konohamaru, I suggest you run," Kagome said, her eyes wide.

"Sakura, calm down," Kagome said trying to coax the older girl to settle down. However, it seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Sakura took off after Konohamaru who had run when he saw that Sakura was charging straight at him.

"Shit! Come on, Naruto!" Kagome said as she took off after Sakura with Naruto on her heels.

They heard a cry from up ahead and picked up the pace, they skidded to a halt as they saw two foreign nin, one was a blonde girl with four pig tails on the back of her head and the other was a guy wearing purple make up and a cat suit.

The guy had lifted Konohamaru up by the scarf.

"That hurt, you little shit!" The guy growled, shaking the kid by his scarf.

"Let him go!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh, yeah, and why would I do that?" The guy asked.

"I'm sorry, this was my fault, we were just joking around," Sakura said.

"Kankuro, just let him go, or you'll pay for this later," the blonde said.

"But, I feel like playing around for a bit," Kankuro said, staring at the small brat he was holding up.

"Let him go," Kagome said, finally stepping forward, her gaze serious.

"Oh, and what if I don't? What are you going to do about it, little girl?" Kankuro asked, shaking Konohamaru again.

"TEME!" Naruto charged forwards, aiming a punch at Kankuro's head. Kagome caught the movement Kankuro made with his fingers. She ran in Naruto's shadow, just as Naruto fell, she flipped over him, and using chakra to enhance her speed, kicked Kankuro's arm, making him drop Konohamaru.

"You little BITCH!" Kankuro snarled, making a grab for Kagome, but a rock sailed past her face and hit the hand that was stretched out towards her, giving Kagome time to grab Konohamaru and jump back to where Naruto, Sakura, and the two other kids were standing.

"Don't you dare talk to my sister like that," A voice came from the tree to their right.

Everyone looked up to see Sasuke siting on the branch, throwing a rock and catching it once more, before he squeezed his fist and the rock turned to dust.

Kagome's eyes widened, that chakra, there was a powerful demon nearby, and it had malicious intentions. She shivered, she looked around, finally, she zeroed in on the branch next to Sasuke.

"Kagome, you okay?" Naruto asked.

"Why don't you come out?" Kagome called instead of answering his question. Everyone looked on in confusion, until they saw a figure appear upside down on a branch, right beside Sasuke.

The figure had red hair, he had kohl lining his pale blue-green eyes, and he had the kanji for love on his forehead in red. Kagome looked at his eyes curiously, they were almost empty. There was depth, but that depth spoke of pain, the pain of others, however looking closer, Kagome realized that the pain was his own.

"You're an embarrassment to the village, Kankuro," the redhead spoke.

"Gaara, I-" Kankuro started but was silenced as the redhead spoke again, "Shut up, or I'll kill you."

He floated down on a bed of sand, landing beside the two Suna genin.

"How did you know I was there?" Gaara asked, speaking directly to Kagome.

Kagome smiled, "I sensed your tenant's aura. My name is Higurashi, Kagome, this is Uzumaki, Naruto, Uchiha, Sasuke, and Sakura Haruno."

"This is Kankuro, Temari, and I am Sabaku no Gaara," Gaara said, introducing himself and his siblings.

Kagome made a split-second decision and stepped forward, her hand out, "It's nice to meet you, Gaara."

"You know," Gaara stated, not taking her hand.

Kagome smiled, she knew it wasn't a question, but she answered anyways, "I do."

Gaara looked at her hand that was still up after her admission, he then slowly extended his own hand, placing it in her own, and he shook it once, and then retracted his hand. He felt a strange feeling overcome him, something he hadn't felt in a while, or perhaps, he'd never felt it before. He couldn't name it, however, it felt…nice.

He looked at her, "Higurashi, Kagome, I hope we meet again."

With those words, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

~o0o~

" **You met the container of the Shukaku, today."**

Kagome looked up in surprise, "Kurama."

Naruto's blue eyes were once again a crimson red,  **"Be very careful around him. That boy cannot sleep, for if he does, the demon inside him will come out."**

"How do you know this?" Kagome asked, "You seem to know a lot of things, like the fact that there was going to be another battle in Waves, and before that, you had me meet up with Sesshoumaru, how do you know him? How is he even here? I mean, I had to be born in to this world, and yet, here he is and he's still a demon. What is going on?"

" **I have already told you, I cannot tell you, yet. The turning point is coming soon and with it, your answers will also come. Be careful of the grass nins and if you can, join up with Gaara's team in the second part of the exam,"** Kurama said.

Kagome growled, "No! Damn it, Kurama! I want to know what is going on!"

" **And you will,"** Kurama said,  **"right before the turning point which is after the exam."**

"What exam?"

" **The Chūnin Selection Exams."**

"How do you know I'll be entered in it?"

" **Do you think those D-ranks that you did were for fun? To be entered in to the Chūnin Exam, you need to complete a total of 8 D-ranks without being banned from them or messing them up in some way. Kakashi had you do 10, while the last two were not necessary, he probably just did that to get you three to work together,"** Kurama explained.

Kagome snorted, "The last two were probably payback for ruining his excuses. Fine, but what will happen in the second part of the exam?"

" **I cannot tell you everything, but what you do need to know is that you shouldn't lag behind, get to the destination point as soon as possible, many things could go wrong in there. Seek out Gaara, he will help you."**

"How do you know Gaara will help us? I mean why would he? If this is an exam, then aren't we the competition?"

Kurama nodded,  **"You are competition, but remember what you felt when you touched Gaara?"**

Kagome narrowed her eyes as she thought back to when her hand touched Gaara's, "Loneliness, and anger, lots of it, but also surprise and… hope?"

Kurama nodded,  **"He will help you, because you are the first person to show him kindness; especially since he knows that you know of the bijuu sealed inside of him, and you still offered your hand, he thought of it as a form of acceptance. Although he does not trust easily, he will not try very hard to push you away. His childhood was cruel, perhaps crueler than Naruto's, had Naruto not met you. Before Naruto met you, his life was not… good."**

"That's putting it lightly," Kagome sighed sadly, "Even after he moved in with me, he would come home with bruises on some days, he would try to hide it, but…"

Kurama nodded,  **"Yes. While Naruto played pranks to get the villagers' attention, Gaara killed to validate his existence."**

Kagome gasped in horror, "That's awful! To think that the villagers would be so cruel as to push someone so far that they had to kill to feel alive…"

Kurama nodded,  **"Try to build a friendship between Naruto and Gaara. They know each other's pain, whether they see it or not, and Naruto can help stop Gaara from killing everyone."**

Kagome nodded, "I don't understand something, why can't Gaara sleep? If it's his seal, then it could be fixed, right? Why not just fix it now, surely there are other seal masters out there?"

" **I'm currently looking in to it. If his seal can be fixed, then it will be after the second exam."**

Kagome nodded, "At least tell me what this crystal does?"

A smile formed on Naruto's face,  **"You still do not know?"**

Kagome shook her head.

A chuckle escaped his lips,  **"Did Sesshoumaru not tell you?"**

Kagome scowled, she opened her mouth to say something more, but Kurama beat her to it,  **"Look up Changing Dragon Crystal, while it's true name is the Ryuu no Kyuubi Crystal, to the humans that once knew of it, it is called the Changing Dragon Crystal."**

With that Kurama walked out of her room and back to Naruto's bed, with Naruto being none the wiser.

Kagome pondered over Kurama's words for a bit longer, before she too fell asleep.

~o0o~

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted his team.

"You're late!" Naruto greeted back.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to buy dog food for Pakkun," Kakashi said.

"Pakkun's a summon, isn't he?" Kagome asked.

Kakashi nodded.

Kagome sighed, "What are we doing today?"

Kakashi held out three forms, "If you want to participate in the Chūnin Exams, fill out these forms and be at the designated location at 9 am sharp tomorrow. Good luck and if you decide not to take the exam, then I'll see you when the exams are finished, bye." Kakashi said, before he disappeared once again.

"So what do you think?" Kagome asked as she turned to the other two beside her, but sweat-dropped when she saw that they were already filing out their forms. She shook her head and started filling out her own form.

~o0o~

"Henge!" Kagome whispered. She transformed in to Kakashi-sensei, she then put a henge on another book, making it look like the orange Icha Icha that he was always reading. She had made sure that Kakashi-sensei would be nowhere near the library before she came.

She nodded to the Chūnin guard, one hand holding up the book, the other in her pocket.

She lazily walked in to the building, mimicking her Sensei's posture as best as she could. Once she was inside, she put the book away and walked towards the door labeled Jōnin. She pushed it open and ascended the staircase that led to the top. She pushed open another door, which led to a circular room full of bookcases.

She noticed that there were sections of bookcases and each particular section had a label.

_Jutsu_

_Maps_

_Artifacts_

There. Kagome walked over to the shelf and ran her finger along the spines and pulled out books that caught her attention:  _The Rarest Gems, Magical Artifacts, Powerful Relics, Guardian Jewel Myths,_ and _Legendary Stones._

Kagome quickly flipped through each book, finally, she found a chapter titled The Changing Dragon Crystal in  _Guardian Jewel Myths_.

She quickly flipped through it and, at last, found the page.

 

_The Changing Dragon Crystal has no identifying description; it changes its appearance regarding to who is in possession of it. According to the Myth, the only one who may see the crystal in its purest form is the crystal's guardian. However, the guardian is not easy to find. Although the prophecy points to possible guardians, a guardian has not been chosen in centuries. There is no record of a previous guardian, however, it is clear that one exists._

_However, since the crystal has not been seen in centuries, it is doubtful that it actually exists. Many seem to think that the crystal is simply a made up myth and to make it seem real, the records were falsified, because at the time the crystal emerged, the country that discovered it was at war. Although, there are some who say that when a guardian is finally appointed, the crystal will reveal itself once more._

_The crystal has a unique power that is different from others. What makes the crystal unique is that unlike other gems, it does not provide the user with more chakra, immortality, or super strength. There have been, supposed, records of experiments done on the crystal, yet there is no record of what the crystal actually does, only what it does not do. One theory, that is the most plausible, is that since the crystal changes when not with it's guardian, only the guardian may use the crystal's power._

 

'Great! This was totally useless,' Kagome noticed that there was a seal on the page; she gasped in surprise as she felt a pulse at the base of her neck. She took out the crystal and gaped. It was glowing; she looked down at the page again, just in time to see the seal disappear in a flash of red.

_**The one who shall guard,** _

_**Will be pure of heart,** _

_**She will know the loss of love,** _

_**She will know the gain of trust.** _

_**A human she may seem,** _

_**An innocent being she will be.** _

_**A creature from her past seeks to corrupt,** _

_**Another from the future seeks to protect.** _

_**Silver from the past will seek to teach once more,** _

_**Silver from the present will guide her to the dark shore.** _

_**Brought from another time,** _

_**To correct the mistake of others.** _

_**She will bring the child of prophecy** _

_**Together with the one who is meant to see.** _

_**Separated as rivals,** _

_**Brought together by her.** _

_**The truth shall be revealed in time for another battle to appear.** _

"What the hell is going on?" Kagome whispered, her voice filled with disbelief. She snapped the book shut and put it in her henged vest.

Nodding a farewell to the Chūnin guard, she left. Filled with more questions than ever.

~o0o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Raimei = Thunder
> 
> I uploaded this on FFN, but I forgot to upload it on here, oops! ^_^;

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of my stories that I'm going to be moving here. I'll probably update one or two chapters a day until I'm all caught up.


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